The American Sailor Soldier
by Laura Fedora
Summary: Virginia Starr, a 14 yearold living in Queens of New York, USA, discovers her destiny as Sailor Virgo.
1. Chapter 1

_Twinkle twinkle, little star– _

_How I wonder what you are!_

_Up above the world so high,_

_Like a diamond in the sky!_

_Twinkle twinkle, little star– _

_How I wonder what you are!_

The childhood song chimed from the alarm clock she had had since she was six years old. Slowly rising, she turned off the alarm and greeted the morning with a yawn and stretch.

"Breakfast is ready, Virginia!" her mother called from downstairs.

"I'll be down in a minute!" she replied.

Setting foot on the soft, plush carpet, she got out of bed and immediately straightened the disheveled covers to hospital bed perfection. Then, sliding her foot into her slippers and wrapping herself into her robe, she descended the stairs to the kitchen where an Ego waffle sat, fresh from the toaster. After adding the right amount of butter and syrup, she started eating, waiting for her mother to ask the question she asked every year.

"So, are you excited that school's starting again?" It was a more teasing tone than it was sincere.

Virginia simply shrugged.

"It'll be your first day of high school. Should be interesting."

"I guess."

"Well, before you start getting ready to go, I want to give you something." She took a velvet box from the counter and handed it to her daughter, a wide grin on her face. "I've been looking for it for years, and I finally found it while I was cleaning out the attic. I thought you'd be able to take better care of it than I would."

Brow furrowed in curiosity, she opened the box. Inside was a round, golden pendant on a long, golden chain. In the center of the pendant was a 20 kt diamond in the shape of a star burst that twinkled fiercely with even the slightest movement.

"It was your great grandmother's," her mother explained. "She gave it to your grandmother, who gave it to me, and I...well, I lost it in the attic for awhile."

"It's beautiful; thanks, Mom! But...are you sure you don't want it for awhile? You can wear it when you go to the theatre with Dad."

"I'd probably lose it. You know, I still can't find that other opal earring your father gave me for our anniversary three years ago. Take it."

Giving her mother hug, Virginia departed to her room to change. Along with her new pendent, she donned a spotless white blouse, a pair of crisp black pants, and a pair of like-new black clogs. She drew her long brown hair into a French braid, and fixed a slim pair of silver-framed spectacles over her blue eyes. With her backpack slung over her shoulder, she left on her walk to the bus stop. As she waited at one intersection for a car to pass, she was grabbed by the arm and pulled aside. It was a young man dressed in an elegant tuxedo, hat, and mask.

"Give me your necklace," he demanded.

_This is new,_ she thought. _A mugger with a degree of class._

"I said give me your necklace!"

Though tears were forming in her eyes, she said firmly, "No!"

He gripped his fingers around the pendant and tried to take it off from over her head. She countered his grip, trying to keep it on.

"Let go!" she screamed.

To her rescue, the bus pulled up, and the masked mugger fled in an instant.

"Are you okay?" the driver asked from his seat in the bus.

Virginia simply nodded, boarding the bus as quickly as she possibly could.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the bus stop. The doors opened, allowing all the other patrons to board. Among them was her friend Grace, who sat down beside her.

"Oh my God, where did you get that sparkler!" Grace exclaimed, noticing Virginia's pendent.

"It was my great-grandmother's," she replied. "Mom found it in the attic over the weekend."

"Is that a real diamond?"

"I don't know."

"I wish my great-grandmother had something like that."

Virginia examined the pendent for any stamped marks of what it was made of, but all she found was a small symbol that she would need a magnifying glass to decipher.

"So...high school, huh?" Grace began again.

"Yeah, high school." She was already getting sick of the topic.

"What do you think it'll be like?"

"Like school."

"Well yeah, but, what about all the things we've heard about it?"

"You mean that there will be classes, teachers, and other students?"

"No, like how all the freshmen go through some initiation, or that the principle monitors the security cameras that he has every two feet, or that..."

"Oh, come on, Grace. Do you really believe all that? That's probably just seniors making up crap to scare the freshmen. It'll be fine; it'll be like junior high, just in a bigger building with more people."

"The freshman initiation is real." The comment came from an unfamiliar source.

Virginia and Grace turned around to face the seat behind them where a guy whom they presumed to be a senior sat. His hair was dark brown, short, and spiked with caramel highlights on the tips. His dark brown eyes and tan skin suggested that he was of Hispanic decent. His outfit was a dark red, short-sleeved collared shirt partially unbuttoned, a pair of black denim cargo pants, and dark grey Nikes.

"How would you know?" Virginia asked. "Are you a senior?"

"No, a junior," he replied. "But just the same, I went through the initiation."

"What was it like?" Grace asked, her eyes fixated on him.

"I'm not allowed to divulge."

"Then what's the point in freaking her out?" Virginia rebutted.

"I just thought I'd bring it to your attention. Expect it."

"And what if we fail this alleged 'initiation'? Will we be pilloried in the village square?"

"Depends on your point of view."

Virginia rolled her eyes and turned back around. "Neither informative nor stimulating."

Grace, on the other hand, was still captivated. "What's your name?"

"Hunter O'Brien. You?"

"Grace O'Malley!"

A kindred Irish spirit–Virginia knew her friend was lost.

"So what's your accent?" Grace asked him.

"My Mom's from Brazil."

"Oh, do you speak Spanish? I took Spanish last year!"

"Portuguese," Virginia corrected.

"No, I took Spanish."

"She means," Hunter explained, "that most Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish."

All conversation suddenly ceased when the bus lurched to a sharp halt. A number of students shouted rude comments to the driver.

"Sorry," the driver replied. "There was a cat in the middle of the road."

_Was?_ Virginia thought. Looking out the window as the bus continued, she saw the cat as they passed it by. It was a young Siamese cat with the brightest green eyes that she had ever seen. The eyes almost seemed concentrated on her, following her as they drove by. Her attention from it was broken when Grace began to plead Hunter to speak some Portuguese.

The school day progressed like any other–Virginia didn't feel the high school difference as much as her friend seemed to, who was chatting endlessly during lunch with comparisons between junior and high school as she had discovered thus far. She ignored most of it, nodding every once and awhile to acknowledge her. And just as she was taking a bite of her cucumber sandwich, Grace started sneezing. The same cat from the road was poking its head into Virginia's backpack.

"Get it away!" Grace whined between sneezes.

The cat looked clean, but it had still been out in the streets. Wrapping her hands in napkins, Virginia picked up the cat around the middle and, with arms outstretched, walked it to the doors where she set it outside.

"Now, shoo!" she ordered awkwardly.

The cat only stared at her pendent, as though hypnotized.

"Go!" She pointed off toward the parking lot.

The cat finally mewed, then turned and left.

After lunch, Virginia proceeded to her Algebra class. The teacher lectured on procedures and expectations.

"...And I will by no means tolerate cell phones or pagers in my class."

On cue, someone's cell phone rang. Everyone instinctively dived into their backpacks to check. And though no one seemed to have an incoming call, the ring was still playing. Gradually, everyone's heads turned to Virginia, who was the only one who hadn't dug around for a cell phone.

"I don't have a cell phone," she said.

The teacher reached into her backpack and took one out, the ring emitting from it. "Then what's this?"

"That's not mine. My name doesn't even start with an 'M'." The cell phone case had an elegantly scribed 'M' on it in green.

"I won't confiscate it this time because it's the first day. Go and quick answer it, then come right back."

With a sigh, Virginia took the cell phone out into the hallway. Flipping it open, she glanced at the screen. Flashed across the monitor in red letters were the words "ENEMY ALERT". Then in smaller letters, it read, "Press SEND for coordinates."

_What the hell? _Out of curiosity, she pressed the SEND button.

The picture on the monitor switched to a diagram with a green dot and a red dot. After walking across the hall, she realized the green dot represented herself, and the red dot was down the hall. Looking ahead, the door to one of the classrooms blew off the hinges, slamming into the lockers across the hall. Then out tread a demon whose head nearly touched the ceiling, red and clad in black with the theatre teacher slung over its shoulder. Virginia opened her mouth for a silent scream, then dashed into the nearest girls' bathroom. Sitting crouched on the floor of a stall, she used the phone to dial 911.

Three minutes passed. She began to wonder if she really even saw the demon at all, or if she had just imagined it. Calming down, she looked at the phone in her hand. For the first time, she recognized that the symbol on the case wasn't an 'M' but the astrological symbol for Virgo.

_Coincidence..._ she thought.

Opening it, she still saw the green and red dots. Denying their existence, she decided to check the contact numbers stored to try to find out who the phone belonged to. There were two numbers listed–one was marked "Phoebe" and the other was simply marked "Speed Dial". She decided to try the "Speed Dial" number. After selecting it, music surrounded her, and a shower of sparks sprayed from the phone, causing her to jump to her feet in alarm. But when the sparks fell on her, they didn't burn–they felt warm and pleasant. In fact, she held the phone above her as the green sparks descended on her like a rushing waterfall, completely engulfing her. When it stopped seconds later, she finally decided to leave the stall. But before leaving the bathroom, she halted in front of a mirror, stunned. Her hair was loose and flowing free; a golden tiara with a teardrop green jewel banded across her forehead; her spectacles had been replaced with a mask; and her whole outfit had been replaced by a one-piece outfit with a green collar and a short green skirt, green boots adorning her feet, and white gloves on her arms.

"What the heck is going on!" she wondered aloud.

"Now go after the demon!"

The small voice made her jump; she had thought she was alone. Looking all around, she could only find the Siamese cat, sitting on the counter.

"What are you waiting for?" the cat asked. "Go, before it gets away!"

"What are you talking about? Wait...talking?" Grasping her head, she slid down to her knees, staring at the floor and taking deep, slow breaths.

"There's no time to explain; you have to stop that demon before that teacher's done for!"

"Done for? What, you mean...?"

"Do you think a demon is taking her to a surprise party? She needs help!"

"What do you expect me to do? At least you have claws!"

"Take your pendent and shout 'Virgo to Arms'."

She took her pendent into her hand. "This is ridiculous; I'm not going to shout that. What if someone hears me?"

"Just do it!"

_If I'm going to listen to a talking cat, I may as well follow through._ "VIRGO TO ARMS!"

Before her eyes, a pistol with a Virgo symbol on it was conjured, and the crystal pendant molded itself into the barrel.

"Hey, what happened? Where did the gem go?"

"It's inside as the power source. Now go get that demon!"

"But I can't use a gun! I never have before, and I'm against violence!"

A low snarl prompted Virginia to turn around. There loomed the demon, its black teeth dripping with yellow saliva, its purely black eyes glaring at her.

_Wake up, wake up, wake up!_ She simply stood there, frozen.

The demon drew back it's free hand, full of long claws, then prepared to strike. But it was stopped when a razor-sharp Ace of hearts playing card zinged through the air and cut its hand.

"Now's the time to act!" Phoebe said. "Aim the pistol at the demon and shout Virgo Stardust Blast!"

Virginia aimed the pistol at the demon as instructed and shouted, "VIRGO STARDUST BLAST!"

A beam of bright light shot from the pistol right to the center of the demon's chest. With a cry, the demon emitted black sparks, dissolving into dust. The teacher on its shoulder was about to fall onto the ground, but was caught by a masked man in a tuxedo.

_Him again?_ Virginia thought, aiming the pistol at him.

He set the teacher gently on the ground, then he reached over to retrieve his Ace.

_He had saved me?_ She lowered her pistol, confused.

"Thank you," he said. "I've been after that thing for weeks, but never been able to destroy it. What's your name?"

"Vir..." He had saved her life, but he was still a mugger. "Virgo."

"Sailor Virgo," the cat whispered.

"Yes, Sailor Virgo," she added.

"Interesting. I call myself Tuxedo Mask." He held out a gloved hand to shake, and Virgo took it hesitantly. "I hope we can meet again sometime."

The class bell rang, and he dashed away so fast it was as though he vanished. Virginia felt bombarded with an unbearable headache and fainted onto the bathroom floor.

Opening her eyes, Virginia woke to the familiarity of her bedroom. She reached over to her night stand, put on her glasses, and looked down at herself. She was in her regular blouse and pants with the pendent hanging from her neck. She smiled in relief.

"It _was_ a dream. Of course it was a dream. I've just been in bed with a fever or something."

Shattering her reality, the Siamese cat jumped in through her window, dropping the cell phone onto the sill. "You forgot this."

For a split second, Virginia caught herself wondering how the cat had jumped up through a second-story window; but then again, if it could talk...Turning over onto her stomach, she covered her head with her pillow. "I'm so feverish, I'm delusional!"

"It was fortunate for you that that masked man drove the demon into the girl's bathroom; otherwise, it would have gotten away," the cat said. "You'll have to get your act together for next time."

"NEXT TIME!" Virginia raged before diving under her covers. "MOM, I NEED SOUP AND LOTS OF LIQUIDS, FAST!"

"Coming..." her mother replied from downstairs.

"Here; I'll prove that you're not hallucinating," the cat said, sitting out in the middle of the floor.

When Virginia's mother entered the room, she spied the cat immediately. "What is a cat doing in your room?" she asked.

"Throw it out!" she demanded, poking her head out from under her covers. But as her mother bent over to catch the cat, the Siamese gazed pitifully at her. With a sigh, she relented, "Never mind. Can it stay awhile?"

Her mother shrugged. "I suppose. Here's some soup and crackers." She unfolded a TV tray and placed it next to the bed, setting the bowl and pack of crackers on it. With that, she left the room.

As Virginia sat up to start on the soup, she glared at the cat. "Okay, so I'm not hallucinating. But I am hearing things, because cats can't talk."

"_That's_ condescending; of course cats can talk. Most of them just don't speak the same language you do. Can a Frenchman not talk just because he doesn't speak English?"

"I can't believe I'm having a debate with a cat."

Getting irritated, the cat leaped up onto the bed. "I am Phoebe. And I do understand that you probably don't remember me, but can you at least bear with me?"

"I remember you pitting me against some mutant freak; that's what I remember."

"Please just listen to me. If it's really so miraculous that a cat is communicating with you, wouldn't you be interested to hear what it has to say?"

"...I guess. Yes. Fine, just...don't talk too loud."

"Now, don't interrupt me. You see, I was sent to find you and help you rediscover your identity...as Sailor Virgo. Since the demon showed up, I knew it was time to resurface your alias. There are more demons like that one, and they're sure to keep showing up. I don't know when, but we have to be ready to fight them."

"You mean _I_ have to be ready to fight them; and, no I don't!"

"I don't know what they're after, but they work for an evil agent, so it can't be good. The whole existence of the human race depends on your fighting them."

"But I don't want to! Give the magical cell phone to someone else–I don't want it!"

Sternly, Phoebe scolded, "This isn't a choice, Virginia. That cell phone won't work for anyone else–it only reacts to your power."

"I HAVE NO POWER! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"I can see it's no use trying to explain anything further to you. You have my number in your cell phone if you need me." With that, Phoebe jumped back out the window.

Furious, Virginia stormed over to the window and shouted out, "CATS DON'T USE PHONES!"

Hunter, who was walking along the sidewalk outside, looked up at her, lowering his sunglasses. "Is that the Starr residence lesson of the day?"

Virginia only slammed her window shut and jumped back in bed. _Wait, I never told him my name...Oh, duh. Mailbox._


	2. Chapter 2

The sky was bright azure with a green sheen to it–the most beautiful thing Virginia had ever seen. But a small black hole tore into it, growing larger and larger, engulfing the sky with obsidian darkness. A vacuum of tempest winds was pulling even the grass from out of the ground. Yet one young woman remained firmly rooted, the only part of her budging was her long brown hair and her long white gown. Virginia knew by her facial appearance that it wasn't her, and yet it felt as though it were. And as the girl raised her arms into the air, Virginia suddenly was looking through her eyes. She felt tears streaming down her cheeks. A bright light ignited over her head, struggling to combat the darkness.

Looking ahead, not one hundred yards away, was Zodiac Mask, perched on a fallen pillar. He was looking up into the sky, and a smile crept across his face. "Let's go, Astraea," he said to her.

Walking up to him, he held out his hand to her. As she took it, a warm light formed between their hands. Drawing her hand away, she found a diamond in the shape of a star resting in her palm.

"Let's go, Astraea," he repeated.

Interlocking their fingers, they grasped each other's hands, clasping the diamond in between. A light emitted from it so bright that it blinded all sight.

"How are you feeling this morning, 'Gina?"

Virginia blinked her eyes open as her mother opened the curtains, letting the sun shine in. Virginia pressed her face into her pillow.

"I feel terrific, mother," she groaned.

"Good. Then you can explain how you forgot to tell me that you were attacked yesterday."

Virginia shot up in her bed, mouth agape. "How do you know?"

"Mrs. Wallace saw it from her living room window."

Apparently, they weren't thinking about the same attack. "Huh?"

"Some man in a mask and a cape attacked you?"

"Oh...That."

"'Oh, that' she says. These are the kind of things you should tell me."

"I'm sorry; I guess I had other things on my mind."

"Well, hurry up and get ready. You shouldn't keep Hunter waiting."

_Maybe I should,_ she thought. "Wait, Hunter? Hunter who?"

"Hunter O'Brien, our new neighbor's son; they just moved here from the City."

"And why would he be waiting?"

"I told them about how you were attacked when I went over to meet them, and they volunteered their son to walk you to the bus stop every morning. He goes to your school–isn't that nice?"

Virginia covered her face in her hands. "Oh, Mom, you didn't."

"Don't argue; I don't want to come home from work and hear you've been attacked by some masked mugger again."

That morning, Virginia took an uncharacteristically long time getting ready for school, so that with any luck, Hunter would leave without her. But sure enough, when she opened the front door to leave, he was sitting on the stoop.

"Took long enough," he remarked. "Few minutes longer, and we would have had to walk all the way to school, and then we'd be late."

"Oh, please," Virginia replied as she walked past. "You would have ditched me for the bus."

"First of all," he began as he rose to join her, "if I tried that, I'd get it from my parents later. Second, I don't mind walking or being late, but I figured you would."

"And how did you figure that?" What he said was true, but she would have hated for him to be right about something.

"You're right; how presumptuous of me, mi'lady," he mocked. "You can assume that I would ditch you, but it's downright ungentlemanly of me to assume anything about you–even if it is true."

Virginia's tongue was caught for a moment. "Maybe we just shouldn't talk."

Hunter immediately agreed by not responding at all. They were both silent all the way to the bus stop, and as they stood waiting. But then Hunter noticed Virginia's pendent.

"You might want to get that fixed," he pointed out.

"What?"

"The link holding your pendent on the chain is pulled open." Carefully taking the pendent in his hand, he showed her where the metal loop connecting the pendent and the chain had been stretched open.

"Ugh; that jerk!" she said, tearing it away from him.

"Ex_cuse_ me!"

"No, I mean that guy who mugged me yesterday was trying to steal it. He's probably the one who did this. Well, I guess I should just keep it in my pocket so I don't lose it." She removed it to put in her pocket, but Hunter stopped her.

"Hang on; I think I can fix it." Digging into one of his cargo pockets, he pulled out a jack knife, switched out the plier attachment, and used it to press the link closed again. "Not as perfect as it was before, but at least your pendent won't fall off now."

Putting it back on, Virginia gently tugged the pendent to test its security. "Thanks," she replied quietly.

"Where'd you get that, anyhow?" he asked.

"It fell out of the sky," she replied dryly, though with a hint of sincerity.

"Of course," he scoffed, though with a hint of belief as he looked up at the sky. "Only seems natural, being a star."

Side-glancing at him, Virginia felt as though she'd been struck by a bolt of lightning. Turning, she gaped as she stared at his profile and tried to imagine him in a mask.

Feeling as though he were being watched, Hunter turned to look at her, seeing that her brow was furrowed and her eyes were wide. He mocked her by matching her expression.

"The same accent," she thought aloud. "The mask was tinted, but they're the same eyes, too; I can tell."

Now Hunter's mocking expression was one of alarm. "What are you talking about?"

Face clenching in anger in fright, she pushed him into the plastic barrier of the bus stop depot. "You JERK!"

"Hey, Virginia!" Grace called out as she approached the depot.

Virginia didn't even notice. The bus was pulling up, and she was getting ready to jump on as soon as the doors opened. When Grace arrived at the depot, she found Hunter getting up from the ground.

"Hey, Hunter," she said as if she would swoon on the spot, oblivious that anything had happened. "Sit with us today, okay?"

Without a word, though a dark expression on his face, he boarded the bus right behind Virginia, sitting next to her.

"What the hell is your problem?" he asked.

Grace, now aware that something was wrong, sat in the seat behind them to listen.

"You know what the hell my problem is!" Virginia retorted. "You're the one who tried to steal my pendent yesterday!"

"What?! You're paranoid!"

"I'm not stupid!"

"If that were me, then I could have stolen it just now when I had it in my hand! What, you think that just because we don't get along that I would try to steal that piece of junk?"

"It _was_ _you_!"

The two of them turned away from each other, arms folded, silent as stone.

"You want to come sit by me, Virginia?" Grace asked.

No reply.

"...Hunter? I've got room for one more."

No reply. The two didn't speak, nor did they separate.

Virginia grasped her pendent so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Outside the window, she saw Phoebe tipping over a garbage can and batting at the newspaper that tumbled out. Sighing, she closed her eyes and listened to the Vanessa Carlton song playing on the bus's radio:

_Just a day, just an ordinary day,_

_just tryin' to get by..._

_Just a boy, just an ordinary boy, but_

_he was lookin' to the sky, and_

_as he asked if I would come along,_

_I started to realize_

_that everyday he finds just what he's lookin' for;_

_like a shooting star, he shines._

_He said_

"_Take my hand, live while you can--_

_Don't you see your dreams lie right_

_in the palm of your hand?"_


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as Virginia stepped out of the bus, she pulled out the Virgo Phone and switched it off, then buried it as deep into her backpack as she could.

"You finally got a cell phone?" Grace asked. "It's about time you caught up with the rest of us! What's your number?"

"Actually, it's not mine. I'm just borrowing it. I'm not keeping it."

"Whose is it?"

"Mmmy...Mom's."

"Why'd she loan you her cell?"

"Beecaauuse...She's trying to get us 'Wicked' tickets and promised she'd call as soon as she got 'em."

"You serious? How wicked would it be to see 'Wicked' on Broadway! If she can get one for me, I'd totally pay her back!"

"I'm sure she knows."

The bell rang from the building before them.

"Better hurry," Hunter chided her. "You're gonna be late."

Immediately, Virginia pushed ahead of him into the building.

"What's with you guys?" Grace asked.

"Nothing; he's just a jerk, that's all."

Before Grace could ask more questions, Virginia ducked into her first hour classroom, just in time with the second bell. The whole day through classes, Virginia didn't even think about the Virgo Phone or Phoebe. She kept wondering if Hunter was too young to be tried at court and thrown into jail. She ate her lunch ravenously and fiercly, like a lion tearing the flesh from a carcass. She almost choked on a cucumber slice when her phone suddenly rang.

"Thought I shut that thing off..." she grumbled. She excused herself from Grace and answered the phone outside. ENEMY ALERT. She pushed the SEND button. This time, the diagram was of a smaller scale, showing how much more distance was between her and the enemy.

"What are you waiting for?" Phoebe hassled, rushing up to her.

"Do you have any idea how long it would take me to get there and back? I can't miss that much classtime! Let that Tuxedo punk handle it."

Virginia was about to turn back into the building, but Phoebe clawed at her pantleg. "Take the subway."

"I am NOT taking the subway--it's a rathole."

"You'll take it if I have to drag you--"

A custodian from inside the building had spotted Phoebe and rushed outside. Phoebe ran away before he could get to her.

"Keep your cat off school premesis."

"She's not my cat."

She hung up the phone and went back inside to finish her lunch.

"Did your mom get the tickets?"

"Huh? Oh, no. It was just a preset alarm she'd had."

Virginia had to keep the phone in her locker because it wouldn't stop beeping. Her remainder classes were spent in desparate denial, only turning into guilt. _Tuxedo Mask probably handled it. Then again, do I really want to leave the fate of the world in his hands? Even if this is all delusion, it's been lasting a long time. Maybe it'll only end when I face it._

After school, she called and notified her mother that she'd be a little late getting home in order to talk to a counselor. Her mother assumed it was about being mugged, and she allowed her mother to think it. She said "good-bye" to Grace and headed into the office of the school counselor. She never before believed in counselors. She didn't appreciate being told by others what her feelings and emotions were and what she should do about them. But this situation was one she couldn't figure out on her own.

"What can I help you with, Miss Starr?" His voice was very calming.

"I've been having...Well, I've been experiencing...These weird things..."

"Why don't we start with how you feel?"

"I feel...lost...confused...like I'm going insane."

"Those are typical feelings for any high school student."

"It's way more than that, though...You see...I guess the best way to say it...Someone is convinced that it's my...duty, or...destiny to fight...something...I think for the good of mankind. But I don't want to fight. I don't like to fight. Especially not when I already have so much else going on, like classes."

"I think I see what you're saying. Virginia, you should never feel forced into doing something that you know in your gut is wrong."

Virginia felt a tear forming in her eye. "That's it. I know in my gut that it's the right thing to do. It is. But I don't want to...I'm scared...I don't want to."

"It's okay to be scared. Everyone's scared. What you need to decide is if this thing you're fighting for is more important than your fears. Ask your friends for help and support if you need it--that's what they're there for. Even if you have to do something by yourself doesn't mean you have to be alone."

Virginia nodded, wiping the tear away. "Thank you. That's all I needed to talk about."

"Feel free to stop by anytime."

Collecting her things, Virginia left the school to depart for home. Hunter spied her and approached.

"Where've you been? We missed the bus; we'll have to walk now. And don't worry--I'll keep my hands behind my back the whole time so you can't suspect me of trying to steal anything from you." He was already standing with his hands behind his back.

"Fine," was her simple, hollow reply as she started off down the walk with her head down, thinking. She took out her cell phone, which was still beeping. The green dot and red dot still shown plainly on the diagram. Without allowing herself time to think twice, she took off into the subway station.

"What are you doing? That leads into the City!" Hunter called. He then started after her. "If I show up at home without you, my parents will ground me 'til Ragnarok!"

Virginia boarded the subway and clutched the handrail. Hunter boarded just before it got set to take off. "What are you doing?"

She didn't answer, only remained focus on the diagram.

"There's an empty seat--you want it?"

"I can't sit," she said.

He shrugged and took the seat, folding his arms.

It was then she noticed one long cut that trailed across the fingers of his right hand. "Are you okay?"

He folded his arms the opposite way so as to hide the cut. "Just a woodshop accident."

"You weren't at lunch today, were you?"

"I go to the deli across the street for lunch. Do you go across town for supper?"

"I won't be your problem much longer. After I tell my mom that you were the one who mugged me, we won't be forced to walk to school together anymore."

"At least one good thing could come from a false accusation."

When the subway stopped, Virginia and Hunter got off, and, following the diagram, she found her way to one of the many theatres on Broadway--the one that was showing 'Wicked'.

"Getting tickets?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah; I just have to stop at the ATM; be right back."

She managed to duck into an alley before Hunter could see where she was going. Dialing the Speed Dial, she transformed. Next, she dialed the Phoebe number in her phone, and Phoebe appeared from around the corner.

"You ARE here! It's about time you showed up. Tuxedo Mask has been and gone with no luck. He was only able to distract the daemon long enough for the victim to run away and hide. The monster's been searching for her since."

"A theatre's a good place to hide. Is there a back entrance?"

"Just follow me."

As they reached the back entrance, Virgo summoned her VIRGO TO ARMS to have the pistol at hand if she needed it. A deep purple fog hung in the air, and all security guards lay in unconcious heaps on the floor. Virgo cautiously stepped in and quietly, slowly made her way through, looking for any signs of movement. Sneaking around from backstage, she saw the daemon in the audience, lurking through the rows of seats. Looking all around, she noticed a shadow cluttering up the grating of the catwalk above.

"Phoebe," she whispered. "She's up in the catwalk. Go up and make sure she's alright. I'll...I'll get the daemon."

"Be careful."

"You too."

Phoebe split to head up to the catwalk. Virgo stood, barely breathing, just watching the daemon from behind the curtains as it searched. Every second, she told herself to spring into action, but couldn't force herself to. She then thought to shoot from where she stood, but did the pistol have the appropriate range? What if she missed? She'd rather destroy it with the first hit so she wouldn't have to fight it.

Four minutes passed without her having moved a muscle. The daemon still searched the aisles, unaware. Looking across the stage to the other half of the tied back curtain, she saw someone looking across at her--through a mask. He nodded as a signal, then stepped out into plain view on the stage.

"Time for a theatre coup!" he called across the auditorium. The daemon immediately turned and headed for him with surprising speed.

Virginia held her arm out straight to aim her pistol at the ready. Just as the daemon leapt to mount the stage, she pulled the trigger. It exploded into dust and vanished.

"No one mourns the wicked," Tuxedo Mask remarked, coughing through the daemon's dusty remains hanging in the air. "Nice aim," he then commented, turning to Virgo.

"You're crazy, aren't you?" Virgo asked with a hint of sincerity.

"Hey, you two!" The voice came from the victim up in the catwalk. "Catch!" Fluttering down were two prime-seat tickets to that night's performance of 'Wicked'. "I want you both to enjoy a performance on me! For what you did, you deserve season passes, but I don't have any on me."

The tickets fell nearest to Virgo, who caught them both. She was more excited than she could say until she saw that the seats were right next to each other. "Thank you," she replied half-heartedly.

Tuxedo Mask approached to reclaim his ticket. "I'll see you tonight, then." With a tip of his hat and flourish of his cape, he was gone.

That night at the performance, Hunter took a seat 15 minutes prior to show, soaking in the excitement in the air. He stared toward the aisle, waiting to see who would fill up the seat next to him. 5 minutes before curtain, she arrived.

"Oh my God, Hunter! Imagine seeing you here!"

"Grace? I mean, hi. I mean...It's you. How'd you get a ticket?"

"Oh, you know. Someone owed me. Friends in high places. That sort of thing."


	4. Chapter 4

"It _was_ him!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Why would Hunter mug you?"

"It's New York, Mom, we could take a survey and find out. Does it matter why?"

"I'm not going to call up the O'Briens and accuse their son of mugging. Now get your things together; he'll be here soon to walk you to school."

Virginia suppressed a growl of frustration as she collected her books into her backpack and sat on the porch. Phoebe kept her company as they waited.

"I should just leave without him," Virginia speculated, rising to her feet.

"Your mom said to wait," Phoebe scolded, prodding her foot in warning.

"I don't care if he is Tux Boy; he tried to mug me."

"He what? You never told me this. Are you sure it was Hunter?" She dismissed it. "So he tried to steal your lunch money. In the grand scheme of things, he's still more help than hurt."

"He didn't go for my 'lunch money', he went for my pendant."

Phoebe suddenly rose to her feet. "Your pendant?"

"Here's the warden, checking in," Hunter said as she came up the walk. "Let's go." He then noticed Phoebe. "Since when do you have a cat?"

"Since when do you care?"

Phoebe approached, and Hunter backed off with a wince. "You should have gotten a dog. Come on; don't make me nag you."

Phoebe growled low at Hunter until he and Virginia made it to the sidewalk and started the walk toward the bus stop.

"Saw 'Wicked' last night. Grace was there, too."

"That's nice."

"How long have you and Grace been friends?"

"About three years now."

"Is she…Does she ever…Have you ever noticed anything…different about her?"

"Like what? She sprouts a tail when the moon is full?"

"Different like...Does she ever just suddenly leave anywhere without explanation?"

The realization hit her: he was asking, because he thought that Grace was Sailor Virgo. Virginia reconfirmed her genius at having given up her "Wicked" ticket, regardless of how badly she wanted to see the show. Withholding any amused grins, she replied, "Yeah, now that you mention it. She's been doing things like that the past few days."

Hunter ceased any other conversation, as they were coming upon the bus stop, and there was Grace and someone else there. As soon as they approached, Grace began gushing out a conversation with Hunter about the performance they had seen the previous night. The other girl who was waiting furrowed her brow in annoyance and inched away slightly, tapping her foot impatiently until the bus finally arrived. Grace and Hunter sat next to each other, and Virginia made herself a mental note to show her displeasure to Grace later. There was an empty seat across the aisle, so she slid in and stared out the window.

"Um...excuse me..."

Virginia looked over to see the girl who had been waiting at the bus stop with them. "Yes?"

Tucking her long blonde hair behind her ear, she said, "Could I have the window seat?"

Virginia shrugged and moved over to allow the girl to sit next to the window.

Upon sitting, the girl winced slightly. "Are bus windows always so dirty?"

"I guess so."

"Maybe I should sit by the aisle."

With a sigh, Virginia scooted over to the window so that the girl could sit by the aisle. When the bus driver put on the gas and bus lurched forward, the girl fell out of the seat and into the aisle, which would have been embarrassing enough, except that her tartan skirt was relatively short. Her face flushed deep red as she heard a few people laugh openly, then she rose and composed herself as best she could.

"Let me sit by the window," she demanded, her grey eyes slightly wet.

Virginia moved over again, and the girl fell into the window seat, folding her arms and directing her face to the window.

In spite of herself, Virginia felt compelled to try to comfort her. "You shouldn't be embarrassed," she said. "An hour from now, those immature idiots will have completely forgotten about it."

The girl turned around, mascara lightly running down her cheek. "Do you have any Kleenex?"

Unzipping the front pocket of her backpack, Virginia dug past the moist towellettes, band-aids, and antiseptic to find the packet of tissues. As the girl wiped her nose and dabbed the mascara from her cheek, her eyes wandered over the backpack.

"Where did you get that?" she asked.

"I ordered it off ebay, actually," Virginia replied.

"It's so vintage-style." She ran her finger along the pocket. "Is that suede?"

"Washable suede."

"Nice..." The girl showed her backpack. "Microsuede. Barney's. Oh my god! Can I...?" She carefully took hold of Virginia's diamond pendant. "This is gorgeous! Where did you get this?"

"It was my great grandmother's."

"So gorgeous!" The girl lightly tossed the pendant up and down in her hand pensively. "Ten...fifteen...twenty karats, at least! And...18k gold!" After one more tentative toss, she corrected, "24k gold!"

Virginia smiled politely while tugging the pendant out of the girl's eager hands. The girl then looked for a place to put her used Kleenex, when Virginia took a Ziploc bag from her backpack, and opened it in offering. The girl put the Kleenex in and then dangled the plastic bag in front of the people sitting in the seat in front.

"Pass this to the trash," she said.

After receiving an odd look at her request, the plastic bag was taken away, and she sat with her compact mirror to make sure her make-up wasn't ruined.

"I'm Cyan Hildebrand," she said with a smile. "Who are you?"

"Virginia Starr."

"Starr...Starr...Oh, we have third period Phy Ed together, don't we?" After taking a moment of thought to confirm her statement, Cyan asked, "Do you always ride the bus, Virginia?"

"Yes."

"Ugh! I sure feel sorry for you. When my daddy's porsche comes back from the shop, we can give you a ride to school."

Virginia's eyebrow quirked in disbelief. "What?"

"It's in the shop now, that's why I have to ride the bus. But when it's fixed, he can give us a ride, so we don't have to ride the bus."

The bus slowed to a halt, and people beganto unload. "I'll see you in Phy Ed, Virginia!" Cyan bid as she hurried to get off the bus, wiping invisible filth from her clothes before going inside the school.

That day at third period Phy Ed, Cyan clung to Virginia as though they were life-long best friends. She made sure they were partners for basketball warm-ups, and passed the ball to Virginia every chance she could during the game. Virginia was becoming increasingly annoyed, and began to regret her single, simple act of sympathy.

After class, as she finished changing from her gym clothes and into her regular clothes, she pulled her sock from her left shoe and tipped it upside down. As always, it was where she hid her pendant, not being allowed to wear it during class. However, the pendant didn't fall out. Pressing her fingers together throughout the sock, and even after turning both socks inside-out, the pendant was nowhere to be found.

"Cyan, do you know where my pendant is?" she asked. Only in a moment of desperation would she talk to her.

"No–it's gone?" Cyan's eyes grew instantly wide. "Oh my god! Where did you put it?"

"Where I always put it! And my locker was locked!"

The two of them tore apart her locker, looking for it in every possible nook and cranny–though seeing as Virginia's locker was pristinely organized, there weren't many places the pendant could hide.

The three-minute warning bell rang.

"I'll help you look after school," Cyan offered dismissively as she left for class.

While Virginia made her way to her next class, she took out her cellphone and hit the speed dial for Phoebe. "Phoebe? Are you there?"

"Something wrong, Virginia?"

Virginia hushed her voice. "My star pendant's been stolen.**"**

"Stolen?!"

"I had to take it off for Phy Ed, and I put it in my sock in my shoe, and I locked my locker with my combination lock, and it's not there! I have class; could you sneak into the school and look for me?"

"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thanks."

Virgina could barely focus on her classes as her mind scrambled over the possibilities of what happened to her pendant. It was easy to conclude that Hunter could have stolen it, as he had attempted to before. But Cyan had also shown a great interest in it, and knew exactly when and where it would be abandoned. Then she began to scold herself for being so stupid as to parade around such a valuable item, and yet she knew that she had to take it everywhere for her duty as Sailor Virgo.

At lunchtime, Grace noticed that Virginia was no longer wearing her pendant, and Virginia begrudgingly talked about how it had been stolen. Moments later, to her dismay, Cyan found her and sat next to her.

"Hi, Virginia!" she piped cheerfully as she sat down and opened her designer lunch bag to unload a gourmet lunch of seafood. "Did you find your pendant yet?"

Virginia shook her head. "I did report it to the front office, though, in case it turns up."

Across the cafeteria, Virginia caught sight of Phoebe slinking past the hot lunch line. Virginia waved her head slightly to get the cat's attention, and the cat shook her head in reply–she hadn't found it, either.

"Are we supposed to take the bus home, too?" Cyan asked with a hint of dislike.

"Yes," Virginia replied.

"Rgh. Hopefully daddy's porsche won't be in the shop too long."

"Wow–your dad has a porsche?" Grace asked.

Cyan's brow furrowed in slight irritation. "Who are you?"

"Grace O'Malley."

"Hm."

"Are you Cyan? I think we have fifth period Study Hall together."

"I don't remember." She took a bite of sushi and said, "Virginia, meet me after school so we can get on the bus together."

_In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes_

_For they in thee a thousand errors note_

_But 'tis my heart that loves what they despise_

_Who in despite of view is pleased to dote_

Virginia's concentration on her English lesson was interrupted by the buzz of her cellphone vibrating. _Not now!_she thought in dread. Nonetheless, she excused herself from the room, bringing her backpack along. After locking herself into a bathroom stall, she flipped open the cellphone. Sure enough, there was an ENEMY ALERT. She speed dialed Phoebe.

"What am I supposed to do?!" Virginia said. "I can transform, but I can't fight without my Stardust Pistol!"

"You have to try, Virginia–if we give the enemy an inch, they could take a mile."

"Proverbs are not helpful right now!" After a moment to collect herself, she said, "I'll be there." _Hopefully Zodiac Mask will show up with some sticks of dynamite or something..._

Just as she was heading out the bathroom door, Cyan was entering. "Hi, Virginia!" she said. "What a coincidence!"

"Yeah...small world..." She took off running down the hall.

"Virginia, where are you going?"

Virginia didn't stop until she was out of the building, then she halted to look at the diagram on her cellphone. "Looks like it's just down the street..."

Running as fast as she could manage, she came to a building marked "Goldbrick Gym". Considering the screams issuing from the building, she could tell that she was at the right place. She first ducked into the alley and used her cellphone to transform into Sailor Virgo. She then entered the front doors cautiously. She knew she had to find the demon, but she had no idea what to do once she found it.

The gym was a maze, difficult to navigate even with her cellphone. It took a full fifteen minutes for her to reach the weight room, where the demon stood over a weightlifter who had collapsed under his dumbbell. The demon picked up the weightlifter by his ankle and slung him over his back.

"Put him down!" Virgo commanded.

The demon looked over to her with mild curiosity. But it only turned away toward the stairwell and began to descend.

"I can't just stand here..." Virgo said. It rather surprised her to hear how dedicated she had already become to her duty. "Where's Phoebe? She could at least jump and claw at it." But it wasn't long for Virgo to figure out something to do. While the demon descended the stairs, Virgo threw a 5 lb weight disc, hitting the demon in the heel and causing him to trip slightly. She then grabbed the heaviest dumbbell she could carry and rushed down the stairs, striking the demon in the head with the dumbbell. It was enough to make him drop the weightlifter, who Zodiac Mask caught before hitting the stairs.

"Take him somewhere safe," Virgo instructed.

"Will you be alright?"

"Just go!"

Zodiac Mask left to do as she instructed. The demon came to from the blow to its head, and took hold of Virgo with its massive hands. She coughed at the sudden squeeze around her waist, and the demon slammed her back against the wall. Virgo bit her tongue–she didn't want to scream, no matter how painful the hit was.

"Hey, stop that!" The voice came from somewhere else in the room.

Shaking her head to restore her proper vision, Virgo looked out across the room and thought to be hallucinating–the girl was wearing a soldier outfit exactly like hers, only blue. And if that weren't strange enough, through the blue mask, it looked like Cyan. The soldier looked down where Phoebe stood beside her, saying something that Virgo couldn't hear. The soldier then drew her hands through the air, saying, "Libra to arms!" She conjured a misty image of golden balance scales. From the image, she plucked the two scales and the chain attaching them, and they became tangible. She twirled them like bolos and cried, "Libra scales of justice!"

Throwing the bolos, it twirled and sped toward the demon, and struck it, flying about its neck. The demon dropped Virgo as it struggled to pull the bolos from his neck. Virgo staggered to her feet, and the soldier rushed over to help move her away from the demon.

"Are you okay, Sailor Virgo?"

Virgo nodded through a wince of pain. "Who are you?"

Phoebe answered, "This is Sailor Libra!"

"If the talking cat says it, it must be true," Sailor Libra said. "Did you know that this cat can talk?"

In a roar of fury, the demon tore the bolos, making it vanish. In a desperate attempt, Virgo said, "Virgo to arms!" making her pistol appear. She then pointed it at the demon and cried, "Virgo Stardust Blast!" Nothing happened. The demon began to charge toward them, snarling.

"What now?" Virgo asked Phoebe. "I can't kill it!"

The demon lashed out its arms, but both soldiers managed to dodge aside in time. Zodiac Mask emerged at the top of the stairs, brandishing a full hand of cards. "Royal Flush!" He flicked the cards at the demon, and they sped around it, creating a confining whirlwind.

"Here," Virgo said, putting the pistol in Libra's hand. "Let's both try this together, both pull the trigger. Maybe we can combine our powers and make it work."

"Did Phoebe teach you that?" Libra asked.

Virgo hesitated before answering, "Actually, I thought of it because of _Captain Planet_."

"You're taking lessons from a cartoon?!"

"Just try it!"

Each with one finger on the trigger, they said together, "Zodiac Stardust Blast!" and pulled the trigger. A beam of green and blue light shot from the pistol and pierced into the demon, disintegrating it into ash. The whirlwind that had contained it subsided.

"...Is it dead?" Libra asked.

Virgo laughed, partly out of the absurdity of the question, and partly out of relief at the answer: "Yes, it's dead."

Libra vocalized a groan of relief. "That was insane! What the heck was that thing, anyway?"

Virgo shrugged. "A demon of some kind."

Zodiac Mask stepped forward to collect his cards, looking them over with a slight chuckle. "This is actually a full house, threes over sixes. That explains why it was such a small twister..."

"_Stupid_!"

The shrill voice had not come from anyone in the room, and the four looked frantically around the room for the source.

"_I should know better than to send demons to do the job. I'll have to do it myself from now on._"

After the echo of the voice silenced, all waited to hear anything further, but that seemed to be the end of it.

"You all heard that too, right?" Libra asked. "I'm new to this, so I want to make sure I'm not going crazy."

"We heard it too," Virgo and Zodiac Mask confirmed.

"We-ird..." Libra chimed, still looking to try to find who had spoken.

Cyan insisted that Virginia join her at Starbucks to talk over all that had happened. Though Virginia rather wanted to go home, especially since she was already more late than her mother expected, Cyan insisted too hard to refuse. So they sat in the furthest corner with their oversized blueberry muffins to talk in low, quiet voices.

"I couldn't believe when a cat started talking to me," Cyan said. "I mean, first, I found this weird cellphone in my backpack, then I started talking to someone, and then I found out I had been talking to a cat over the phone, and...well, I'm sure you know. How long have you been doing...all that?"

"Only since Tuesday."

"_Really_?" She sipped her cappuccino. "It's like a movie, you know? But it's real. That's what's so weird. It's like just when you think things can't any weirder, you know? And who was that guy in the tuxedo?"

"He calls himself Zodiac Mask."

"And, what, he's one of us?"

"I don't know. I think he...Cyan, you remember my pendant?"

"Yeah, of course."

"I really need that. It's what I normally use for my Virgo pistol. So if you know where it is, I really need it."

"I don't know where it is; I honestly don't." She set down her cappuccino, indignant. "You think I stole it?"

"I just had to make sure, alright? In all fairness, you were a complete stranger to me before today."

Cyan took another sip of her drink. "I didn't steal it."

"Then he did."

"Who? That mask guy?"

"He's tried to steal it from me before."

"But he helped us fight that demon. If you need it for your pistol, why would he steal it?"

"I don't know, but he probably did."

After a moment of silence, Cyan asked, "How do you use a diamond pendant in a pistol?"

Virginia quipped, "How do you use a cellphone to change your outfit?"

Cyan laughed. "Fair enough. Fair enough."


	5. Chapter 5

Virginia woke that morning with a grin–it was Friday. Between school and her strange new "job", she was beginning to feel strained. A weekend was exactly what she needed, and it was only eight hours of school away.

"Virginia..." Phoebe said, leaping deftly onto the bed, "...I need to speak with you about what happened yesterday."

Virginia sighed. "You can't even be a normal cat for a Friday?" Alarmed, she snapped her mouth shut. "Before I met you, I never used to whine quite so much." She sat next to Phoebe. "I'm sorry. What about yesterday?"

"That disembodied voice," Phoebe said, "sounded familiar to me."

"How?"

"Well, from...It is somewhat of a long story, and one that I feel Cyan should also hear. Perhaps we can all meet after school today?"

"I suppose I can invite her over after school."

Phoebe tilted her head. "Do you not like Cyan?"

Virginia winced slightly. "She's just a bit much to take. I say one thing to her, and all of a sudden, we're joined at the hip."

"But she is your comrade in arms."

"And I do appreciate that–she was a great help yesterday." Virginia rose to finish her hair and put on her glasses. "Are there more?"

"More soldiers? I hope so. There should be. I will explain at our meeting."

"Alright."

"I'll keep looking for your pendant."

"Thanks." Virginia was about to head down for breakfast, but hesitated and turned to face Phoebe again. "I...This week has been...strange, to say the least...It's hard for me to..."

Phoebe nodded and held up a paw to silence her. "You're trying. I'm grateful for that."

-------

Once again, Hunter was at the door to walk Virginia to the bus stop. They walked in silence, for perhaps the first time. Virginia was debating over whether or not to confront him about her missing pendant, sure that he would deny stealing it. But as her necessity for it was so great, she spoke out.

"Do you have my pendant?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "Why–you lose it?"

"It was stolen."

"You're so paranoid–how do you know you didn't just lose it?"

"Because I remember exactly where I put it last, and it wasn't there."

"Sure; whatever you say."

Neither decided to argue it further. At the bus stop, Cyan was standing with a smile and greeting for Virginia. Grace was waiting as well, but her greeting to Virginia was fleeting as Hunter approached Grace and took her hand. Virginia could barely pay attention to Cyan's morning ramble as her eyes were fixed on the sight of her best friend holding hands with a known mugger, the two smiling at each other and exchanging morning casual talk.

"Don't you think, Virginia?" Cyan asked. "Virginia?"

Virginia snapped out of her current brain malfunction. "What?"

"Don't you think they should have a bench or something around here?"

"Well..."

"But then it would probably get covered in graffiti and chewed gum and other nastiness."

Upon boarding the bus, Hunter and Grace sat together–and sat close together. Virginia found a seat as far back in the bus as she could, and Cyan followed to sit next to her. As soon as she sat, Cyan borrowed a Kleenex from Virginia to wipe off the window. Cyan began a conversation about how she almost lost one of her favorite earrings in the shower drain, when the bus halted for the final stop on the route. A girl boarded and marched down the aisle to the seats farthest back, and halted when she saw Virginia and Cyan. She leaned onto the back of the seat, staring down at Virginia.

"You're in my seat," she said.

Virginia momentarily wondered if she was suddenly back in the third grade. "What?"

"My seat. You in it. Move."

Peering above the heads of those seated in front of her, Virginia scanned the bus. "There's an empty seat there, one there, and one over there."

"This is where I like to sit."

Virginia merely sat with her arms folded and her eyes forward, refusing to move. Cyan looked nervously from one girl to the other. "You know...I sat over there yesterday, and it's really a nice seat."

The bus started up again, and though she was still standing, the girl's balance didn't waver. She readjusted the military cap on her head, twisting it from her right side to her left, shuffling her curly black hair. "Escuchame: You will move, then I will sit."

Virginia by no means was in the mood to deal with such a person, so she took up her backpack and moved out of the seat. "Come on, Cyan."

Cyan rose and followed suit. Not a word more was spoken as the girl took her seat, and Virginia and Cyan jostled while the bus took a left turn, and fell into an empty seat elsewhere.

"Before I forget," Virginia began, "Phoebe wants to meet with us after school."

"Phoebe?" Cyan asked. "Phoebe...Oh, the...Oh, okay. Sure. We can go to my house."

"Your house? Because I was thinking of my house."

"Well, we can definitely get privacy at my house, no problem, trust me."

"Alright; your house."

------

Throughout the school day, Virginia's mind was half on her studies, and half on her backpack, bracing for her cellphone to vibrate and call her to action. The morning went by smoothly, but Virginia still ate her lunch with trepidation. Her attention was diverted, however, when Grace joined her at the table.

"So, Virginia?" she asked. "Did you...notice?"

Virginia set down her cucumber sandwich. "You and Hunter?"

Grace smiled from ear to ear. "He asked me out yesterday, and we went out on our first date last night!"

Virginia tried to keep her shock in check, so casually picked up her sandwich again. "That's great, Grace."

"Who's Hunter?" Cyan asked.

"He always walks me to the bus stop," Virginia said.

"Oh, him? I thought he was your boyfriend, Virginia."

Virginia almost choked on her sandwich. "No. He just walks me, because I was mugged a few days ago."

"You were mugged?!"

Virginia was torn: talk about the mugging, or talk about Grace and Hunter's date. Both topics were equally unappealing. She decided on something more trite: "What is that you brought for lunch, Cyan?"

Grace jumped in: "I don't have anything planned until this evening–Hunter and I are going to an open mic night at Endymion Café. I thought we could go to your house, and I could tell you all about my date."

"I can't," Virginia replied. "I'm going to Cyan's house after school."

Grace was struck silent for a moment. "Oh. Well...I guess I'll call you Saturday."

Virginia heard the disappointment in her friend's voice, and though she was somewhat annoyed by her relationship with Hunter, she still felt guilty. "Let's go the park tomorrow, to the zoo."

Grace nodded. "That'd be great."

------

The more the day wore on, the more anxious Virginia became, waiting for her cellphone to vibrate. However, she made it through the entire school day without a single alarm raised. She even brought out her cellphone to make sure, checking for missed messages and turning on the ringer–nothing. While she had it out, she contacted Phoebe and let her know that they would be meeting at Cyan's house for the meeting. She and Cyan got in line to board the bus, when the same girl who had bullied them on the bus before cut in front of them, causing Cyan to spill the contents of her backpack.

"Perdoname," the girl chimed. "Want to make sure I get my seat."

"You want to apologize?" Hunter and Grace had been making their way to the back of the bus line, and seeing what the girl did, Hunter spoke out.

"Not really," the girl said, hiking up the stairs into the bus.

Hunter shook his head and helped as Cyan and Virginia were gathering her things. Grace merely stood aside, glowing at how gallant her boyfriend was.

"Everything accounted for?" Hunter asked.

After a quick look through her backpack, Cyan noticed one thing missing: "My graphing calculator is still missing."

As the three looked around, Hunter and Virginia noticed it lying just beneath the bus. They both dropped to their knees at the same time to reach for it.

"I can get it," Hunter said.

"_I_ can get it," Virginia insisted. She reached out, just able to touch it with the tip of her fingers, when she leaned too far forward and hit her head against the bus. She recoiled and clenched her teeth to the bout of pain as Hunter managed to retrieve the calculator. With his eyebrow raised in slight amusement, he offered his hand to help Virginia to her feet. But she rose on her own, and she and Cyan boarded the bus.

Virginia had expected that Cyan came from a rich family, but was still amazed when Cyan declared it was their spot to get off. The houses were three times bigger than any in her neighborhood, and every lawn cleanly and elegantly kept. Coming off the bus right behind them was the girl with the military cap.

"Hey–you get off _here_?" she asked them.

"Um..." Cyan began. "I don't live here...we just..."

"Please, chica, I know you live here. You have monogrammed angora socks."

Cyan crossed her legs where she stood in an attempt to hide the monograms embroidered on the outside of her socks.

"You know," the girl began, "if you have some time, I could use some help."

Virginia could hardly believe what she was hearing. "You want us to help you?"

"Yeah. I lost my dog a week ago, so I've been going around to different neighborhoods looking for her. You wanna help?"

Cyan quietly replied, "Well...we kinda have plans..."

At this point, Virginia couldn't help but speak her mind. "You want us to help you? After all you did to us?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Please; I made you switch seats, then I bumped into you. You don't have to cry about it."

"We'll pass. And if how you treat people is any indication of how you treat your dog, then I hope you don't find her."

The girl raised her hands. "Alright, fine, aya! Go off into your little rich girl house and count your sorrows. I'll find my dog myself; makes no difference to me."

With that, the girl departed down the street. Cyan led Virginia to one of the larger houses on the block. Inside, there was a large foyer with a winding staircase. Up the stairs to the third floor, Cyan brought Virginia to a modest room which had a small bookcase, two deep armchairs, and dozens of houseplants: some standing tall from the ground, some hanging from the ceiling, and some boxed in a greenhouse niche of the room. Some were pure green foliage, and some had sweet-smelling blossoms.

"This room is amazing!" Virginia gasped as she scoped out all the various plants.

"Thanks," Cyan said. "I like taking care of plants. Those pots in the corner are my newest ones–I'm trying to grow my own bonsai." Cyan set her backpack by an armchair, and offered to Virginia to do the same. "Should we wait outside for Phoebe?"

"I told her to call when she got close. Is anyone in your house allergic to cats?"

"Just my older sister; but she only comes home on the weekends."

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah, her name's Lark. She goes to NYU and has an apartment near campus, but she visit on the weekends at mother and father's request."

Virginia's phone rang. She answered it, but instead of a call from Phoebe, it was an enemy alert. "To think I almost got through a full day without it..."

Cyan answered the call on her phone, too, which she'd had on vibrate. "I gotta remember to switch this thing on. So..." She turned the phone over. "Where is this?"

"Come on." As they rushed down the stairs and out of the house, Virginia called Phoebe to let her know they were responding to the alert.

Seeing a taxi coming down the street, Virginia stuck out her arm to flag it down. As the cab pulled up, the driver rolled down his window. "I already got a passenger," he said, "'less you don't mind sharin'."

Virginia and Cyan dove in, and Virginia gave him the destination. It wasn't until she began to strap on her seatbelt when she found who else was in the cab: the girl with the military cap–and Phoebe. Though the girl took note of them, she said nothing, only kept her eyes forward.

"It's alright," Phoebe whispered to her.

Both Virginia and Cyan were shocked that Phoebe had spoken in the girl's presence–until they noticed a red cellphone in her hand.

Phoebe gently pawed the girl's hand and said, "They're soldiers too; you can talk to them."

She turned to blankly look at them both. She then nodded her head slightly and said, "Audrey Corazon."

"Virginia Starr."

Cyan had to be elbowed to be made to speak. "Cyan. Hildebrand."

Audrey shuffled away from Phoebe. "What is going on?"

Virginia and Cyan were both at a loss of how to explain. But Virginia knew it wouldn't help for the talking cat to explain things, so she attempted to, keeping her voice low: "Something evil is attacking, and we have to stop it."

After a moment of silence, Audrey scoffed. "So, what is this, some...some kind of joke? You're getting back at me for what I did to you?"

"No, Audrey..."

"Does this cat have some radio speaker in its collar?"

"She's not even wearing a collar."

Audrey shoved her hands into the deep pockets of her baggy camouflage pants. "I thought it was just some weird dream."

"What are you talking about?" Phoebe asked.

"I was on my way to the bathroom, and I saw...I don't know what it was...some monster going the same way. I thought I was just seeing things or...I don't know...I followed it. And I opened the bathroom door, and that monster was there, and this...some chica in a crazy-short skirt shot it, and it kinda exploded." She looked over at them. "Is that what this is?"

Virginia nodded. "Something like that, yeah."

"So you were the...soldier I saw."

"Yeah."

Cyan piped up, "I just started yesterday, myself."

The cab arrived at the appointed destination, so Virginia paid the driver, and all of them got out to stand in front of the Starscape Hotel. They walked in together, and saw people shouting and dispersing, clamoring for the exit.

"What now?" Audrey asked.

"We go to the bathroom," Virginia replied.

"_What_?"

After all three found an empty bathroom, Virginia and Cyan hit the Speed Dial on their phones to transform. Audrey did the same, and was dumbstruck to find herself transformed into a short-skirted soldier suit with the color maroon. She tugged on the skirt.

"Aya, this is cold! I'm supposed to fight in this?!"

"I think they're cute," Libra said, clicking the heels of her boots.

Virgo put her hand on her new comrade's shoulder. "You ready?"

"Does it matter?" she retorted. Then she struck a salute. "Let's go."

Phoebe smiled. "Glad to have you with us, Sailor Scorpio."

Virgo led them out and used her cellphone to track where the enemy was–in the convention room with a new exhibit for a new artist. The artist himself was backed into a wall, cringing. But it wasn't a demon confronting him. The soldiers were surprised to see a young woman no older than twenty dressed in a pink flapper dress with a long string of pearls. Most peculiar, she had short pink hair and pink eyes to match her pink skin. She aimed a small black revolver at the artist.

"_Stop_!" Virgo shouted.

But the woman pulled the trigger, and the gunshot rattled off the walls. A stream of red lightning cracked from the barrel of the revolver and struck the artist through the heart. Virgo clamped her hands over her mouth, and the other two soldiers were equally shocked. The lightning extracted something from the man's chest–a small, red, flickering flame that hovered in the air.

"Hmm..." The woman considered the flame. "Such a disappointment. I was hopin' it'd be bigger. Well, every bit of talent helps." She began to approach the flame.

Scorpio stepped forward. "You better back off of him if you don't want to be strung up by your pearls, woman!"

The woman halted and turned to look at the soldiers. "Now there are three of you? I don't get it. You're winning, but you still feel the need to add more people? Well..." She chuckled. "My mistake. I meant: you _were_ winning. But I can't play games anymore. The Kingpin is very insistent. I thought the demons could handle it, but it looks like Minnie herself has to do the dirty work." She smiled through her pink lipstick and tapped the barrel of her gun idly against the nape of her neck. "Now, maybe a little target practice would be fun." With a flick of her finger, she spun the bullet cartridge of the revolver and took aim. "You, in the green–you've been around longest, right? Then you should be the first to go. Russian Roulette!"

Virgo dodged before she even heard the gunshot, and Libra pulled her aside. Still, the bullet that escaped the gun, taking the form of a whip, latched around Virgo's ankle. Minnie yanked on the gun, tripping Virgo and igniting an electric shock that traveled the length of the whip to Virgo.

"Libra to arms!" Libra conjured her scale bolos and twirled them toward Minnie. "Libra scales of justice!"

The bolos knocked the gun from Minnie's hand, and Minnie cried out from her injured hand. "You stupid little witch–I just got a manicure!"

Libra helped Virgo to her feet. "Are you okay?"

Not quite able to stand, Virgo swayed and tried to focus her bleary eyes. "I'll be fine."

Beginning to understand how things worked, Scorpio said, "Scorpio to arms!" She conjured a foggy image of a scorpion, and grabbed hold of its stinger, which became a long dart.

Minnie took hold of her gun again and this time, aimed at Libra.

"Scorpio Venom Sting!" She spun in place, then let the dart fly. It lodged in the barrel of Minnie's gun just as she pulled the trigger. The revolver exploded, leaving Minnie in a cloud of smoke.

Between coughs, she sputtered, "Stupid...little..." With one great sneeze, she vanished.

Libra stood aghast. "Oh my god, Scorpio! That was an amazing throw! I mean, you got it right in the gun, just like that!"

"Is she okay?" Scorpio asked, gesturing to Virgo.

Virgo was beginning to stand more solidly on her feet, so she freed herself from Libra's support. "I'm fine. Thanks for your help."

Scorpio approached the fallen artist. "How do we get his...talent...back in?"

Phoebe strolled up to the artist and licked his hand. "I think...we need Virgo's pendant."

"But it was stolen," Virgo said bitterly.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Libra asked.

Phoebe shook her head. "Not without the pendant. When he comes to, his talent will be extinguished."

"You mean..." Libra looked around at the exhibit of abstract oil paintings. "...he won't be able to paint like this anymore?"

"He won't be able to do what he loves most," Scorpio said, also looking at the extraordinary paintings.

Virgo's fist curled. "This is ridiculous! Libra and Scorpio can use their powers without a pendant–why can't I?" She knelt down to the artist's level and held out her palms. She then closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. But no matter how hard she tried, nothing happened. The flame only wavered and grew smaller. Virgo shot to her feet, looking around the building. "Zodiac Mask–you have to be here somewhere! Give me my pendant back _now_!"

Scorpio leaned over to Libra and asked, "Who is Zodiac Mask?"

"He helped us out yesterday."

"Zodiac Mask!" Despite Virgo's call, no one came forth. She turned to her comrades. "Help me–we have to try something before it's too late."

"Like what?" Scorpio asked.

"I don't know! Let's combine our powers and see what we can come up with."

The three joined hands. "Let's concentrate on him," Libra suggested. "Sort of imagine him and the flame coming together again."

"Girls..." Phoebe bid them to open their eyes–the artist was waking, and the flame was extinguishing.

In one last attempt, Virgo lifted the artist, trying to bring him to the flame, but he awoke, and the flame extinguished. Before the artist could look at the people around him, Phoebe and the soldiers dashed away.

Some feet away, hiding behind a pillar, was Zodiac Mask, clutching the pendant in his hand.


	6. Chapter 6

The cab ride back to Cyan's house was completely silent. No one spoke a word, not even after they all were seated in the greenhouse room, Audrey leaning against the doorframe. Phoebe hardly knew what to say herself, and sat on a shelf contemplating her words for some time.

"I'm sorry, girls..." she finally said. "You all did a wonderful job, but...some things just can't be helped."

After another length of silence, Audrey finally spoke up. "Who was that, anyway? I mean, what are we dealing with?"

Phoebe sighed. "I should start from the beginning, as I had planned to. I know you all had a difficult day, but please try to pay attention."

Audrey stood up at attention to show her dedication, and Cyan sat up straight. Virginia merely tilted her head in the cat's direction, pushing her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose.

"This all began about three hundred years ago," Phoebe began, "with your ancestors, your great grandmothers. Back then, none of them were inhabitants of the Earth. They all lived in kingdoms up in the stars."

Audrey scoffed.

Phoebe took notice, and became slightly frustrated. "Do you want to try explaining all that's been happening here in more 'realistic' terms, Audrey? Or shall I continue?"

Audrey opened her mouth to reply, but having no response, simply nodded for Phoebe to continue.

"Thank you. As I was saying, they lived in kingdoms up in the stars, kingdoms which were rooted in the brightest star of each Zodiac constellation. The queen of the Spica Kingdom of Virgo–your great grandmother, Virginia–was hosting a celebration in honor of the birth of her daughter. All the queens of the other Zodiac kingdoms–and their families–were invited, and all attended. These queens were your great grandmothers, Cyan and Audrey."

Cyan's eyes grew wide. "We're _royalty_?"

"That can't be right," Audrey said.

"While all these royal families were taking a holiday on Spica," Phoebe continued, "it became too great an opportunity for their enemies to pass up."

"Wait..." Audrey said, "they had a party while they were at war?"

"No one knew of the enemies until that day. They must have been lying low and conserving the energies necessary to instigate the attack. I won't go into the more exact details of how this attack was executed today..."

"Will you tell us sometime, though?" Audrey asked. "I'd like to hear it."

"Yes, sometime. The head of the organization called himself simply the King, and he had a league of underlings–one of which was Myna, who, as I remember her, is either an ancestor of Minnie, or Minnie herself. The attack was successful; the organization decimated the Zodiac kingdoms one by one, finishing with the Spica Kingdom. Astraea, the queen of Spica, was distraught–she put the responsibility of the situation entirely on herself. But her power wasn't enough to handle the situation while it was buried inside. So she had to extract her power from herself in the form of the Spica Diamond–the star pendant. Although the power was then free and strong enough, it took all her energy to accomplish. With the Spica Diamond, she transported all who still lived to safety on Earth."

"Did..." Cyan began. "Did Queen Astraea die?"

Phoebe nodded. "She saved everyone, but gave up her last energy to do it. She died just after appearing on Earth herself."

Everyone looked to Virginia at once, which made her instantly uncomfortable, so she asked a question: "Is that why I can't use my power without the pendant?"

"Yes. Audrey and Cyan still have their power intact inside themselves, inherited genetically from their great grandmothers. Yours, however, was extracted, which is why you cannot attack without the Spica Diamond. However, the advantage of it is that your power is greater than it would be inside yourself."

"Can we extract ours?" Cyan asked.

"I wouldn't recommend it. First of all, it could get lost, as the pendant has. Also, it would take years for you to harness the focus and energy to be able to do it without doing harm to yourself. Your powers are sufficient as they are, and will get stronger the more you practice."

"And there's no way to put mine back in?" Virginia asked.

"Not that I know of. It's never been done."

"And..." Virginia hesitated, recalling the dream she'd had before. "...Zodiac Mask? Do you remember seeing anyone like him back..." Her thoughts suddenly switched gears. "Wait, you remember? You were there three hundred years ago?"

Phoebe smiled. "I'm a talking cat. Is it really such a leap to believe that I could have lived for so long? Longevity is common throughout other planets of the universe, and could likely be common with the organization set against us." She leapt down from the shelf, landing deftly on the carpet. "As for Zodiac Mask, I don't remember anyone like him. But if it's true that he stole your pendant, he could very likely be with the enemy."

"But he was helpful yesterday," Cyan pointed out.

Phoebe shrugged her furry shoulders. "I really can't say who he is or what his motives are."

"We should question him if we see him again," Audrey suggested, "simple as that."

_I can think of something more direct..._ Virginia thought.

—

That night, after even Phoebe fell asleep, Virginia got out of bed, taking her cellphone along. Just before stepping out of the house, her thumb hovered over the Speed Dial. _Sailor Virgo couldn't get arrested..._ she reasoned, and hit the Speed Dial to transform. Stepping out into the night, her eye mask worked as nightvision goggles, lighting the darkness for her. Keeping her senses on alert for anyone who might be around, she crept next door. Naturally, all the doors were locked, so she had to contemplate another way in. The only way she could see was a tree going near the house that reached out to the backyard awning. From there, she could reach a window that was cracked open on the second floor.

_This is ridiculous_, she thought, looking up the tree. _Just call the cops on him or something._ But somehow, that wasn't good enough. To ensure that it would be done, she had to do it herself. _Of course climbing a tree is my only option when I'm wearing high-heeled boots and a short skirt._

Nonetheless, the branches were broad and easy to reach, so she took a deep breath, and began to climb. Her heart pounded every time one of her heels slipped, but she made it up, and crawled onto the awning. The window that was cracked open was a hallway window. She hoisted it up and tried carefully to climb through. Her left foot stomped in a little hard, but it didn't seem to make a difference–the house remained silent and still.

It was easy to guess which room was Hunter's–it was the only door in the hallway with a poster of the New York Rangers hockey team. Virgo knew that she had to exercise patience in this. She turned the doorknob as slowly as she could to make it soundless, and opened the door with the same care. Peering inside, she saw Hunter sleeping in his bed, his walls papered with posters, and his floor cluttered with clothes.

_What a pit_, she thought with a wrinkled nose. She tiptoed in, careful to dodge whatever could trip her up. _How in the world am I going to find it in all this?_

She began over at his dresser, opening the top drawer–and finding his underwear. _Ugh!_

_I'm going to assume–and pray–that it's not here._ She closed the drawer as quietly and as quickly as she should. Looking thoroughly through the other drawers, she could find no sign of it. Then the next thing to catch her eye was the top drawer of his nightstand, which was locked with a combination lock.

Diminishing her breaths to as silent as they could be, she slowly tiptoed over to the nightstand and knelt down to the lock's level. For a moment, she was frozen, watching Hunter and waiting for his eyes to open. _I'm starting to feel like a stalker,_ she thought mordantly. Shaking her head to clear it, she deftly took hold of the combination lock and leaned into it to listen intently as she turned the dial._ I have no idea what I'm doing..._ she thought as she tried to listen to any indication that she was hitting the right numbers.

"Holy...!" Hunter woke with a start, sitting up in his bed.

His fright scared Virgo, causing her to jump to her feet with a slight scream. For a moment, they just stood there, catching their breaths, eyes wide and locked on each other. Hunter was the first to speak.

"What are you doing here?"

Virgo folded her arms. "You stole a girl's pendant. I'm stealing it back for her."

He scoffed with his head in his hands. "I know it's you, Virginia. I know. And you know who I am." He got to his feet to stare her down. "You are not getting that pendant. So just get out."

"I need that pendant!" she shouted, slamming her hand on the nightstand. She remembered that his parents were likely trying to sleep in a room not far away, so she quieted herself again. "What are you, Hunter? Are you one of them?"

"Just get out, Virginia."

"Answer my question."

"You know, you're pretty demanding for a person who's broken into someone else's house."

"Stop pointing fingers at me when you know you're at fault here! Hunter, a man lost his talent. A gifted artist lost his ability to paint; his life is like a hollow shell now! I need that pendant to make sure that never happens again, and I will do what I can to get it."

Hunter flew through the combination lock, and opened the drawer, gesturing to her to step forward. Virgo knelt down and rifled hastily through several times, finding nothing. She searched the other drawers as well, to no avail. She rose to her feet, meeting his eyes with daggers. "Where is it, Hunter?"

"Not here. So you can leave."

"Tell me where it is."

Determining that she would not leave on her own, Hunter grabbed her arm and took her to the door. Virgo freed herself, but Hunter shut the door on her, and propped himself against it so that she couldn't push back in.

"Give it back, you heartless jerk!" Virgo shouted as she tried to combat his pressure on the door.

Then, she heard a voice from down the hall: "Hunter? What's going on?"

Hunter opened the door to confront his parents, and saw that Virgo was gone. He then closed the door and leapt back into bed, pretending to be asleep. When his parents entered and saw him sleeping, they determined that they had just woken from a bad dream or somesuch, and went back to bed.

—

"You sneaked into his house?!" Phoebe had caught Virginia coming back into her room, and Virginia reluctantly told her what she had done. "Virginia, how could you do something like that? What if he did turn out to be the enemy–he could have shot you just like..."

"I had to do _something_!" Virginia argued back. "Without the Spica Diamond, there's absolutely no point in me doing any soldier business. Not to mention there's more pressure on the other soldiers, because if they can't prevent Winnie from shooting out someone's talent..."

"It's Minnie, and _calm down_." Phoebe jumped onto the bed. "Sit." Virginia did so. "Virginia, we were all going to confront him together. Now he knows who you are, which complicates things."

"He knew before I even went there. At least, I think he did. I mean, he stole the pendant from me as Virginia, and he saw me use it as Virgo...I'm pretty sure he saw me use it. I thought that he suspected Grace for awhile...It doesn't matter. So he knows who I am, so what?"

Phoebe sighed. "The next attack, whenever it will be, we will confront him when he is Zodiac Mask, so no more identities are compromised."

"By then, someone else could lose their talent–why should we wait?"

"Please, Virginia, be patient. If you go rushing into things on your own, it could do way more harm than help."

"It's just..." Virginia plopped back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I was pushed into this whole different life that turned everything I ever believed upside-down, and now it's like I'm being pushed back out of it. As difficult as I thought it was to be pushed in, it's way more difficult being left out."

Phoebe nudged her furry head into Virginia's arm. "I know it's hard. We'll do what we can to get your pendant back. In the meantime, get some sleep."

As it had been a difficult and tiring day, Virginia was quick to agree, and so settled into sleep.

—

Virginia tried her best to go into that Saturday with a clear mind. Although she dreaded the inevitability of another enemy attack, she at least had leisure time to keep her sanity grounded. A trip to the Central Park Zoo was a welcome retreat, and rather a comfort–she and Grace had made a trip to the zoo together at least once every month since knowing each other, and it was always a good, relaxing time.

However, as they were enjoying their favorite spot–the penguin exhibit–Grace began to divulge all the details of her first date with Hunter, and Virginia's heart weighed down heavier and heavier each minute she talked on.

"He cleaned up real nice," Grace began, "with black dress pants and a green collared shirt–he's looked so fine! I mean, he always does, really, but he looked especially fine all dressed up. He picked me up in his car–he has his own car, a black camry–and we went to that new Chinese place, Yang's. Well, I was getting nervous, because though I like Chinese food, I always eat it with a fork, and I didn't know if he was going to be using chopsticks, because if so, then I didn't want to use a fork like a moron, but I'm so bad with chopsticks."

"Slow up," Virginia requested. Though she wanted the story to be over with quickly, she would often become annoyed when her friend began talking too fast, and sometimes got a headache from it.

"Sorry; yes; I know, I'm just excited about it. Anyway, he pulled out the chair for me, so cute, and he was using chopsticks. So I didn't want to be lame and use a fork, so I tried using the chopsticks, and when I tried to get the noodles to my mouth, they slipped out of the chopsticks and fell into my lap. I was so embarrassed, and he had seen the whole thing."

"Did he laugh?" Virginia asked, idly watching as a penguin dove into the water.

"He kinda smiled, but he didn't laugh. He showed me how he uses the chopsticks, and how it's okay to lift the bowl to your mouth to shovel it in, you know. And we talked about school and 'Wicked' and stuff, and he left me use his jacket to tie around my waist and hide the stain from the noodles. He was such a gentleman! He even walked me to my door–it was like a perfect night!"

Virginia turned to her friend and forced a smile. "I'm glad you had a good time."

Grace sighed dreamily and stood next to her friend, watching a penguin slide along on its belly. "We talked about you a little bit, too, actually."

For the first time in that conversation, Virginia was genuinely interested. "What'd you say?"

"Well, when we were talking about school, I told him about how your pendant went missing. He said he'd keep an eye out for it."

"Oh."

"He asked where you got it, and I told him it was your great grandmother's. Then he asked if..."

"What?"

"He asked if you had been acting weird lately. Or different...I don't remember how he said it."

"And what did you say?"

Grace's brow crinkled with worry. "Well...the first day of school, after classes, I was waiting for you in the bus line, but you never came. Then the next day, I wanted to make sure to meet you, so I went to your locker, but when I got there, you were going down the hall, so I followed and saw you go into the guidance counselor's room, then you came out looking like you'd been crying."

"Grace..."

"I didn't say anything, because...well, I was kinda mad, honestly. First of all, I've heard you say like a million times before how you'd never go see a counselor for anything, because they're 'touchy-feely airheads'. But also because, since we've known each other, you've come to me about everything, you know, we tell each other everything. And...I was kinda mad that you went to see a counselor instead of talking to me."

"Grace, let me..."

"I know it's stupid. I mean, I should be concerned if there's something going on with you, not mad at you. Just...tell me what it is, okay?"

Virginia sighed. She hated keeping things from Grace, but she couldn't tell her about being a sailor soldier–she'd think she was lying. If she didn't tell her anything, Grace would give her the, "_Okay_," that meant it really wasn't okay. So she came up with something, something she wanted to say, anyway: "I don't think you should date Hunter."

Grace was completely taken aback. "That's it? I mean, I got the idea that you two don't really like each other, but I didn't think it would upset you _that_ much."

"He's a liar, Grace, and..." _She's going to hate me...but I have to. _"He's the one who mugged me the first day of school, and he's the one who stole my pendant from my gym locker."

After the initial shock of the statement sank in, Grace rolled her eyes. "Come on, Virginia, don't."

"Please believe me, Grace. I'm telling you this for your safety. I wouldn't make up something like this, Grace, you know I wouldn't. You know me."

"Did you see him steal it?"

"No."

"Did you ever see it with him?"

"No, but..."

"Wait, that can't be right. You went to the counselor before Hunter and I were even going out."

Virginia felt her head rush at being found out. "Grace..."

"If you didn't want to tell me, you should've just said so, instead of making up some lie about my boyfriend!"

"It's not a lie, Grace!"

"I asked you what was wrong, as any concerned friend would, and you told me something that happened after the meeting with the counselor, so it couldn't be the reason you were so upset, so it's a lie! I'm trying to be considerate, and you're being cruel!"

"Please, Grace, don't..."

"You can get a cab home." With that, Grace stormed off, taking out her cellphone to call her father for a ride.

Virginia collapsed onto the nearest bench to take deep, cleansing breaths, not wanting to get emotional in a public place. As she was trying to steady her shaky breathing, she felt a tongue licking her hand. Looking down, she expected to see Phoebe, but saw a dirty tan Pomeranian there. At first, Virginia drew away her hand and pulled out her small bottle of Purell to wipe her hands with. But then, in spite of herself, she picked up the small dog to look at its tag. The name on it read "Rubia" and the owner's name below read "A Corazon." _How about that..._

She flagged down a cab, and gave the destination address as the one on the dog's tag. She was driven to an apartment building only a few blocks from the park. As she walked up onto the stoop, she noticed a "Lost Dog" sign posted on the door, fitting Rubia's description. Pushing the button for apartment 201 on the intercom, she waited for a voice to come on the other end.

"Quien esta?"

"This is Virginia. I found Rubia." She heard some background Spanish, then, "Audrey will be right down, thank you."

It didn't take long for Audrey to come to the door, and her eyes lit up as she saw Rubia and took her into her arms.

"Ah, mi querida! Where have you been?"

"I found her at the Central Park Zoo," Virginia said. "Well...she found me, actually."

"Oh. Well, thanks for bringing her in. Ah..." Audrey took the flyer off the door. "I know the reward says fifty dollars, but I've only got twenty."

"No, it's fine. We're even now."

"Even?"

"You made a gun explode on a demonic flapper, and I found your dog. We're even."

Audrey chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I can see that. Well..." She put out her hand, and Virginia shook it. With that, Audrey eagerly took her dog inside to feed.

Virginia returned to the cab, and directed it toward home. On the way, she winced to hear her Virgo phone ring. Answering it, there was no alarm on the monitor–it was a video of Cyan.

"Hey, Virginia!" Cyan greeted. "I just found that all our numbers are automatically added on our speed dial list! How cool is this–a video phone!"

Virginia smirked at her comrade's exuberance. "Yes, Cyan, very cool."

"I was just wondering, after you're done at the zoo, if you wanted to hang out."

"Actually, I kinda just wanted to relax at home the rest of the day. What about your sister? Don't you hang out with her on the weekends?"

"Oh...yeah...How about tomorrow? Do you wanna hang out tomorrow?"

"Sure, tomorrow."

"Oh my gosh, and I know what we could do! It's so much fun! But I'm not going to tell you–it'll be a surprise."

"Sounds fine."

"I'll pick you up around 3:00."

"Good. See you then."

Although Virginia's grief which accumulated over the past forty-eight hours still sat heavy with her, she was a little lifted by Cyan's spirits, and though she relished relaxing at home, found herself looking forward to the following day.

Phoebe was nowhere around when Virginia reached home. Even more astonishing, she went to bed that night without having had any alarm raised on her Virgo phone. She almost cried with relief at the silence as she laid in bed and went peacefully to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The sky was green, and the ground was shaking. Virginia could feel the wet tears on her cheeks, and could clearly hear cries of fear in the air, though she couldn't see anyone on the ruined landscape–except for Zodiac Mask, standing high atop a broken-down pillar, smiling at the sky. Virginia felt a pang in her chest looking at his smile.

"Come on, Astraea," he said. He leapt down from the pillar and held his hand out to her. "We can do this. Let's go."

After touching her hand to her heart, she put her hand in his. After a warm glow, the Spica Diamond materialized. Then, clasping their hands tightly together, they raised them up to the sky. The glow from the Spica Diamond intensified, engulfing Virginia as she rose off the ground. Zodiac Mask remained rooted to the ground, and tried to keep hold of her hand. His smile plunged into worry as Virginia's hand came free of his.

"Astraea, stop!" he shouted after her. "_Stop_!"

Virginia rose higher into the sky, watching Zodiac Mask become smaller and smaller until the glow of the Spica Diamond completely blinded her view.

—

Virginia woke, rubbing her eyes. When she opened them, she felt her eyes adjusting to the darkness of her bedroom, and gripped the soft sheets under her fingers. Reaching up to her face, she gently wiped her cheek, and felt wet, stagnant tears.

That morning, Phoebe was still nowhere to be found. After getting dressed, Virginia called her on the Virgo phone.

"Hello, Virginia," Phoebe replied. Her voice was hushed.

"Why are you whispering?"

"I'm tailing Hunter. Right now, I'm perched on the awning outside his bedroom window."

"You've been there all night?"

"I don't have anything better to do. I'm hoping he'll eventually give up the hiding place of your pendant."

Virginia smiled. "Thank you, Phoebe. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. I have to go now–he's going down to breakfast." With that, she hung up.

For a moment, Virginia wondered, _How does she work a cell phone, anyway, with just her paws? Where does she keep the phone, for that matter?_ But the quandary was hardly important enough to hold her attention for long, and she went down to breakfast. Her mother and father were already at the breakfast table with French toast.

"We're going to church at 9:00 this morning instead of 11:00, Gina" her mother said. "Your father and I need to run some errands. Do you want to come with?"

"I actually have plans today."

"Oh, with Grace?"

"No, with Cyan, a girl I met at school."

"Oh, that's nice! Who's she?"

"She's in my Phy Ed class."

"How did your trip to the zoo with Grace go?" her father asked.

Virginia stalled by taking a bite of French toast and chewing slowly. She managed a pleasant demeanor by the time she swallowed, and so said, "Great. We saw a baby lemur that was just recently born there."

Her father and mother exchanged glances. Her father then said, "Any reason why you had to take a cab home? I thought Mr. O'Malley drove you."

Virginia stalled again, formulating a response. "I found someone's lost dog, and had to take her to her home. Mr. O'Malley couldn't drive me, because he and Grace had to get home right away."

"A stray? Gina, I thought you knew better than that!"

"Not a stray, Dad. She had a collar, she was friendly and perfectly safe. And she was just a little Pomeranian. It's not like I had a Pitbull in the cab with me."

"I think it was nice of you," her mother remarked. "We thought you took a cab because Grace and you had a fight or something. You always ride together."

"So..." her father began, "...where are you and your new friend going?"

"I don't know yet. She said she wants it to be a surprise."

"Are you getting a ride or taking a cab?"

"I don't know; she did say she would pick me up."

"Ask her over here afterwards," her mother said. "I'd like to meet her."

"Home by nine," her father reminded.

"Yes, Dad, home by nine."

—

Virginia couldn't believe what she saw parked in her driveway–a silver porsche. Cyan giggled at the look of surprise and awe on her friend's face as she ushered her down the walk to the driveway. The blonde-haired man in the driver's seat introduced himself as Mr. Anthony Hildebrand, Cyan's father. Admittedly, in spite of the obvious wealth displayed by Cyan's clothes and her home, Virginia somehow never truly believed that her father owned a porsche, but merely bragged about having one in order to impress. It felt almost surreal riding in the luxury vehicle through New York.

Cyan sat with Virginia in the backseat during the ride. "Guess what!" she said.

"What?"

"I bought one of Evan Thomlinson's paintings!"

"Thomlinson...Is that the artist that we...?"

Cyan nodded. "I wanted to help out, so I bought one of his paintings."

"That's really nice of you, Cyan. Did you meet him, then?"

"Yep. He's such a great guy, very nice." The light from her eyes diminished, and she lowered her voice. "He lost all his commissions."

"What about the paintings he has?"

"He hasn't been able to sell them as high as he needs to." She smiled brightly. "But I think we made up the difference for a few of them."

The porsche pulled up to a cobalt-roofed building with a crescent moon and a neon sign: Endymion Café. Cyan and Virginia got out of the car, and Cyan bid her father good-bye, with the reminder that she would call her when they're ready to go.

"Have you ever been here?" Cyan asked.

Virginia shook her head. "No, but I've heard of it."

"You'll love it! Come on!"

Stepping inside the café was like stepping through a portal to another world. The ceiling was cobalt with star lights dotted across, the brightest light being a large crescent moon hovering over a small stage area. The tables were set up on three levels: the ground level, which surrounded the stage, another level up three steps higher, and a third level up five steps higher. Each table had purple tablecloths with softly tinted lamps. The whole atmosphere was comfort and peace.

They first stopped at the counter. Cyan ordered a cappuccino and a chocolate pastry, and Virginia ordered a strawberry smoothie and a slice of cheesecake. Cyan was disappointed to see that all the tables at the ground level were full, so found a table for two in the midsection on the farther side of the café.

"So what do you think?" Cyan asked as they sat down.

Virginia smiled. "This place is really cool. What's the stage for?"

"There's going to be a performance at 4:00. They get a bunch of different guest artists here. Today, it's Pinstripes. They're an acoustic rock group."

Their food and drink were delivered, along with a booklet of songs. "What's this for?" Virginia asked.

Cyan's grin spread wide. "They start karaoke at 5:00."

Virginia cleared her throat. "Listen carefully, Cyan: I am not singing. _I am not singing_."

"Oh, come on! It's always a lot of fun!"

Virginia pointed her fingers to Cyan's eyes, then to her own, to make sure she was focused. "_I am not singing_."

"Hm..." The tone of Cyan's hum suggested her determination to make her friend sing a song and like it. As she sipped her cappuccino, she flipped through the booklet. "Oh my gosh, I know what I have to sing! I'm going to go sign up–I'll be right back."

As Cyan got up and left, Virginia took the opportunity to take in her surroundings better. She'd never felt so comfortable and relaxed in any place away from home before–it was ruined when she caught sight of Hunter and Grace sitting together at a table on the ground floor. Fortunately, neither of them noticed her, so she tried to brush them out of her head as Cyan returned to the table.

Flipping out her phone, she said, "Maybe I should call Audrey again."

"You called Audrey?"

"Yeah, to invite her along. Only got her voice mail, though. Have you heard the voice mail on these phones? Phoebe recorded it–it's so cute!"

Before Cyan could hit a button, Virginia said, "I don't know that you should call Audrey again."

"Why not?"

"Cyan, you remember how's she treated us in the past. I don't think she's looking to be friends with us."

"Why not? We're all..." After looking around, she leaned in. "You know, we're all sailor soldiers." Without hearing any other advice, Cyan pressed the speed dial for Audrey, and waited. "Hi, Audrey! This is Cyan!...Cyan Hildebrand...Uh, the one with the monogrammed socks...Yeah, that's right! So Virginia and I are at Endymion Café to watch the Pinstripes perform, and we were wondering if you wanted to join...Oh...Oh, okay...So, we'll see you at school tomorrow..." She flinched slightly as Audrey suddenly hang up the phone.

Virginia raised her eyebrow, expectant of an explanation.

"She said she can't, because she's still looking for her lost dog."

Virginia nodded, and somehow didn't have the heart to tell Cyan that Audrey's dog had already been found.

Luckily, the awkwardness was dispelled as applause erupted. Looking over to the ground floor, the girls saw that the band was setting up on the stage. There were four of them, two men and two women, and all of them wore pinstripe suits with ties and fedoras. Their modest band consisted of a guitar, a small set of drums, and a bass guitar. The fourth member was the singer, setting up the microphone to her diminutive height. She had short blonde hair of the Marilyn Monroe persuasion, and the distinctive color of her pinstripes was pink. The other members had blue, green, and gold pinstripes.

As soon as they were all set up and ready, the lead singer turned on the microphone and said, "Good evening, everyone!"

Applause sounded.

"I'm Myna!"

The other band members sounded off their names:

"I'm Horatio!"

"I'm Ismene!"

"I'm Xerxes!"

Then altogether, they said, "We're the Pinstripes!"

After the applause subsided, the band started playing their first song.

Cyan sighed happily. "Xerxes is so cute! And I love that gold guitar! Don't you love his guitar?"

Virginia thought it looked rather tacky, but said, "Yeah, it's nice."

"I love watching his guitar solos, the way his hands fly across the strings!"

Virginia nodded dismissively, trying to defeat the feeling of Hunter's or Grace's eyes falling on her. She was tempted to leave, but knew that Cyan wouldn't allow it.

After the band completed their performance, all applauded as they cleared the stage. The owner of the café then took the stage, tapping the mic to test it.

"Let's give another hand for the Pinstripes!" he said, and the people obliged. "As many of you know, we have karaoke starting up this evening. First on our schedule is Miss Cyan Hildebrand singing 'Beautiful Disaster'–let's help her to the stage with a little applause."

The café again clattered with applause as Cyan straightened her clothes and took the stage, tucking her hair behind her ears as the karaoke machine started up the song.

_He drowns in his dreams  
An exquisite extreme I know  
He's as damned as he seems  
And more heaven than a heart could hold  
And if I try to save him  
My whole world could cave in  
It just ain't right  
It just ain't right_

_Oh when I don't know  
I don't know what he's after  
But he's so beautiful  
Such a beautiful disaster  
And if I could hold on  
Through the tears and the laughter  
Would it be beautiful?  
Or just a beautiful disaster_

He's magical myth  
He's as strong as what I believe...

Seeing Cyan on stage, Grace began scanning the café for who else she knew would be around. Virginia met her eyes as Grace found her table. Grace's eyes narrowed to a glare, and Hunter asked her what was wrong. Dismissively pointing in Virginia's direction, Grace mumbled something inaudible under Cyan's singing, but Virginia decided it was best she didn't know exactly what her friend was saying. Hunter then turned in his chair to spy Virginia, at which she turned her head away to stare at her vacant plate.

The café owner stepped up to the mic after Cyan finished her song. "That was Cyan Hildebrand with 'Beautiful Disaster'. Next on our schedule, we have Miss Virginia Starr singing 'Ordinary Day'."

Cyan burst a grin as she returned to the table. Virginia's eyes grew wide as she vehemently shook her head in refusal. But Cyan pulled her from her seat and initiated an encouraging applause that swept through the café. There seemed no way out of it. And so, with a clenched jaw, Virginia walked down the stairs, past the table which emitted the least applause with Hunter and Grace, and walked to the stage, adjusting her glasses to read the prompt screen as the music began. She started slightly off key, and so cleared her voice. While she began to hit the notes better, her nervousness kept her voice subdued.

_Just a day,  
Just an ordinary day.  
Just trying to get by.  
Just a boy,  
Just an ordinary boy.  
But he was looking to the sky.  
And as he asked if I would come along  
I started to realize  
That everyday he finds  
Just what he's looking for,  
Like a shooting star he shines._

_And he said take my hand,  
Live while you can  
Don't you feel your dreams lie right in the palm of your hand?_

_In the palm of your hand..._

Virginia was suddenly struck with the memory of the strange dream she kept having, and she felt almost in a trance as more of the song came out of her.

_And as he spoke, he spoke ordinary words  
Although they did not feel  
For I felt what I had not felt before  
And you'd swear those words couldn't heal.  
And as I looked up into those eyes  
His vision borrows mine.  
And I know he's no stranger,  
For I feel I've held him for all of time._

And he said take my hand,  
Live while you can  
Don't you see your dreams lie right in the palm of your hand  
In the palm of your hand.

Please come with me,  
See what I see.  
Touch the stars for time will not flee.  
Time will not flee.  
Can you see?

Just a dream, just an ordinary dream.  
As I wake in bed  
And the boy, that ordinary boy  
Or was it all in my head?  
Did he asked if I would come along  
It all seemed so real.  
But as I looked to the door,  
I saw that boy standing there with a deal.

And he said take my hand,  
Live while you can,  
Don't you see all your dreams lie right in the palm of your hand  
In the palm of your hand,  
In the palm of your hand.

Just a day, just an ordinary day  
Just trying to get by.  
Just a boy,  
Just an ordinary boy.  
But...

Her voice faded away before she could finish the song, as she caught herself staring intently at Hunter, and furthermore–he was staring back. Virginia felt numb and deaf as the café owner ushered her from the stage with applause, and she walked like a zombie back to her seat. Cyan seemed not to notice her friend's peculiar state, as she was clapping very enthusiastically and smiling wide.

"You were really good!" she said. "If there's room in the schedule, we should do one together! Oh, you said you like 'Wicked' right? We could do one of those songs! It'd be so..."

"Can we leave?" Virginia interrupted.

Cyan's smile dropped instantly. "Why?"

"I don't...I can't...I just don't feel well. I really just want to leave." Without even waiting for further reply from her friend, Virginia got up from her seat and headed for the door. Cyan followed, dialing her father on her cell phone at the same time.

Even after they exited the café, Virginia continued to walk down the block until the café was some feet away, and she sat herself on a bench.

"Daddy will be here in a bit," Cyan said, sitting beside her. "I didn't know you had such severe stage fright that it would make you sick. You were singing nicely after your jitters, so I thought it was okay." Her mind was immediately stolen from the conversation when she caught sight of the Pinstripes' van parked just across the street. "Oh my God! The Pinstripes are right over there! There's Xerxes putting..." Remembering her friend, she pulled herself together. "Never mind. Nothing. We'll just sit here and relax; just breathe slowly and deeply, that usually helps me feel better. You want a mint to suck on?"

Across the street, the Pinstripes were loading their gear into the van. Myna removed her fedora, sniffed the inside, and winced.

"We gotta drop by the dry cleaners sometime," she said. Her voice was no longer that of a smooth rock vocalist, but more shrill, and with a Jersey accent. "It may only be a cover, but that doesn't mean I have to be covered in rank."

"Agreed!" Horatio said, tossing his hat into the back of the van. "And who's stupid idea was it to look in a karaoke bar for talent? Do you even know what 'karaoke' means?"

"Undiscovered talent could be more valuable," Isemene defended. "It's untapped, unabused, unexploited."

"Get back in there, Myna," Xerxes ordered. "You may have already missed a good target."

She winced. "Do I have to? The last time we went to a karaoke night, a 40 year-old man sang 'I'm Not That Innocent'. I practically went brain dead."

"You mean you aren't already?" Ismene asked.

Myna shrieked an offended rebuttal, then limply slapped her comrade's arm. Horatio scoffed and handed her the revolver. "You'll definitely need this."

Xerxes held the van door open for her. "Now get into some civilian clothes so you can actually get a job done for a change."

"I will!" Myna said, stomping into the van. "And when I give the Kingpin his first meal, we'll see who's brain dead!"

After slamming the door closed, her comrades merely laughed. When she emerged, she was wearing a peasant blouse and jeans, both in shades of pink, wearing pink makeup, and with her pink hair. She crossed the street and entered the café, taking a seat at one of the vacant tables, but not before ordering the largest coffee drink they had, disappointed that they didn't serve margaritas. The café owner stepped onto the stage after the latest performer.

"That was Jorge Consuelas with 'Hit Me Baby One More Time'. We're not here to judge. Up next, we have a duet. Miss Maya Brooke is the lead singer, and if there are no riotous objections, I'll be the fill-in singer." A loud applause emitted, accompanied by some whoops and whistles. "We'll be singing 'Way Back Into Love'."

_I've been living with a shadow overhead_

_I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed_

_I've been lonely for so long_

_Trapped in the past, I just can't seem to move on_

_I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away_

_Just in case I ever need them again some day_

_I've been setting aside time_

_Living in the space in the corners of my mind_

_All I wanna do is find a way back into love_

_I can't make it through without a way back into love_

_I've been watching, but the stars refuse to shine_

_I've been searching, but I just don't see the signs_

_I know that it's out there_

_There's gotta be something for my soul somewhere_

_I've been looking for someone to shed some light_

_Not somebody just to get me through the night_

_I could use some direction_

_And I'm open to your suggestions_

Myna watched with increasing curiosity. The man clearly had a talent for singing, and everyone in the café seemed to agree. A smirk crossed her lips as she rose and made her way to the restroom. Once there, she entered a stall. When she came out, she was perfectly pink from head to toe, and wearing her flapper outfit–Minnie. She took a moment to admire her appearance in the mirror, adjusting her feather barrette and blowing herself a kiss. It was then that she noticed the lipstick on her teeth, so worked on wiping it off with her finger as someone else entered the restroom–a young man.

"Drag queen?" the man asked.

"How dare you!" Minnie shrieked, slapping him across the face.

"Lady, you're in the guy's bathroom!"

"...Oh. 'Scuse me."

Bobbing a curtsey, she left the restroom. The duet was just ending, and everyone was clapping. Minnie tugged on her string of pearls nervously. "I've never worked a full house before." She quickly checked all her pockets. "Rgh! No sleep powder pellets, either! I'll just have to improvise." Marching up to the stage, she took control of the microphone, and took hold of the café owner's arm. "Excuse me. If everyone could turn their eyes up front, please." When she felt all eyes were on her, she spun the cartridge of her revolver and aimed out. "Roulette Hypnosis!" Pulling the trigger emitted a blast which took the shape of a roulette wheel, which began spinning faster and faster. "Keep your eyes on the prize, ladies and gentlemen! 1...2...3...Sleep!" Everyone in the café immediately fell into a deep sleep, except for the owner, who lashed his arm free.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Minnie smiled, the gun barrel caressing her cheek. "My name's Minnie, baby, and I'm here take your marvelous singing talent." She prodded the gun onto his chest.

"Minnie, stop!"

Turning her head, Minnie saw Sailor Virgo and Sailor Libra standing near the entrance of the café. "Only two today?"

"Don't do it, Minnie," Virgo warned.

"Libra to Arms!" Libra conjured her bolos and started spinning them.

With a smile of amusement, Minnie moved the revolver away from its target. "You're right. Why waste a bullet on him?" She aimed at Libra and pulled the trigger.

Libra kept the bolos spinning and moved them in front of her body, deflecting the red lightning beam that cracked from the revolver's barrel. She then threw the bolos, wrapping them around Minnie's ankles until she fell to the floor. The flapper beat her fists against the floor in a fury as Virgo summoned her pistol. Both she and Libra took hold of the trigger and aimed at the fallen foe.

"Zodiac Stardust Blast!"

Minnie retrieved her revolver, spun the cartridge, and wailed, "Russian Roulette!"

A blast of fire shot out, and when it collided with the zodiac blast, it created a small explosion, burying Minnie in smoke.

Virgo took the café owner by the hand and ushered him toward the door.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Just leave until it's safe."

"You're just kids; I can't leave you in there with that psycho."

"We'll be fine, thanks." She practically had to push him out of the door.

Phoebe was just outside, and had been pawing to get in. "It's about time! How's it going in there?"

"Make sure he doesn't come back in."

"Did that cat just talk?" he asked.

"Do what the talking cat tells you to," Phoebe said.

Virgo dashed back in, just as Minnie was emerging from the smoke, covered in soot and coughing.

"This...is my best dress!" Minnie shouted. "Ooh, I am not leaving here without something. I gotta get some of my own back, anyway." With that, she trampled towards the men's restroom. "Good; you're still here."

Before Virgo and Libra could make it to the bathroom, they heard the thundercrack issue from Minnie's revolver. When they entered the bathroom, the man laid hunched over the sink with a red flame flickering over him.

"Still not that great," Minnie said upon appraisal of the flame's size, "but something's better than nothing." With a wave of her hand, the flame was encapsulated inside a glass globe.

Virgo and Libra pounced, each of them taking one of their foe's arms, and dragged her from the bathroom. She wrenched herself free and performed a backflip, landing halfway across the room.

"I've had enough of you little...whatever you ares! Russian Roulette!"

"Scorpio Venom Sting!"

The large dart whizzed across the room and struck Minnie's hand, causing her to drop the gun. With a cry of pain, Minnie pulled the dart out and looked at her hand, which was becoming stiff as a board.

"You rotten little...!"

She couldn't finished her insult, as she felt the numb paralyzation spreading up her arm and her right leg. Hobbling as fast as she could, she ran to the bathroom. Virgo tried to stop her, but Minnie flung her stiffened arm back, striking her hard in the stomach. The flapper took hold of the orb containing the flame, and without a word, vanished with it. As Libra helped Virgo to an empty chair, Scorpio opened the door for Phoebe and the café owner.

"How'd it go?" Phoebe asked.

"Minnie got away," Scorpio said, "and took a flame with her."

Phoebe's ears flattened back. "I've heard better. Is everyone alright?"

"Virgo got a punch in the stomach. Otherwise, we're all fine."

"_Now_ will someone tell me why my café was ransacked?" the owner asked.

Phoebe's ears perked in alarm as she heard the collected moans of café patrons who were waking from their hypnosis. "We can't talk now, sir. When do you close?"

"I'm closing up now; I can't serve patrons in this mess."

"We'll talk after everyone is cleared out, then." She turned to Scorpio. "You should all revert back to your civilian forms–meet in the restroom."

The sailor soldiers all convened in the bathroom to detransform from their soldier uniforms. They opened the door a crack and watched as the patrons came to and cleared out gradually. Virginia was relieved to see that Hunter and Grace were both alright. Aside from some soot and debris, all patrons left sound in body. After the café was completely cleared out, the girls exited the bathroom, and between them and Phoebe, explained everything to the owner as they helped him clean up the mess their battle had left behind. When they were finished, they all sat down for some on-the-house smoothies.

"So, in essence..." the owner said, "...your ancestors were from outer space, and now you're all continuing some age-old war?"

"In essence, yes," Phoebe said.

"Was it really a good idea to let him in on it?" Audrey asked. "No offense, sir, but you've never known Peter Parker to sit down with J.J. Jameson to have a talk about him being Spider-Man, and for good reason."

"Well, Audrey, first of all, he saw the whole thing," Phoebe said. "But also, I think it's a good investment." Licking the raspberry smoothie from her whiskers, she turned to the owner and said, "I've watched you before on my sojourns around town, and you seem a good person."

"Thank you..."

"Furthermore, your café is a very popular hang out. You do good business here?"

"Yes."

"And you hear a lot of the latest gossip on things?"

"More than I typically care to, yes."

Phoebe nodded. "You could be an asset to us, then. Keep us informed on any big names you hear. They may be targets for the enemy, and if we can find out before they hit, then we can have a better chance of preventing anything from going wrong."

He nodded. "I suppose I could. You did save me and my café from a worse fate, anyhow."

"Of course we'll have to rely on your discretion. No talking about us to anyone, especially the media."

"You can trust me."

"As I believed, or I wouldn't have told you anything."

"At any rate, if I tried to tell anyone, they'd take me away in a padded truck." He held out his hand to the table. "Rakesh Soma."

In turn, each introduced herself and shook his hand.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Rakesh," Phoebe said, sliding a cell phone to him. "You can contact any of us with this phone."

He picked it up in wonder. "Where did this come from? You got a kangaroo pouch or something?" He waved his hand to dismiss it. "Never mind; I don't want to know where it came from. Come here, ladies."

Getting up from the table, he walked to the register, opened it with a bell ring, and took out three special coupons. "I usually reserve these for businesses and guest bands. Here. You can come here whenever you like and order whatever you want, no charge."

"Thank you, Mr. Soma!" Cyan said as she accepted hers.

"Rakesh. After the sci-fi epic that played out in here, formalities are a farce."

Cyan's phone rang, and she answered it. "Sorry, Daddy; we'll be right out." Hanging up, she turned to her friends and said, "Daddy's ready to take us home."

"You girls take care of yourselves," Rakesh said. "Do your parents know that their teenage daughters are fighting malicious aliens?"

"No," answered all three at once.

"Of course not. But then again, neither do I, right?" Shaking his head to clear it of all the strangeness of the day, he began to go through the motions of closing up the café.

The three girls and Phoebe stepped outside to Mr. Hildebrand's waiting porsche.

"Daddy," Cyan began, "is it okay to give my friend Audrey a ride too?"

"Sure; hop in."

Audrey took a long look at the porsche and shook her head. "I'll pass."

"Come on, Audrey!" Cyan insisted.

"I'll catch a cab." With that, she left down the sidewalk to hike a cab.

Shrugging it off for the moment, Virginia and Cyan got into the car, taking Phoebe along with them.

---

Author's Note: Those of you who have been sticking with this fanfic: first of all, thanks for reading! Second: an audio project is underway to turn Zodiac Sailor Soldiers into a radioplay. The first episode should be released around late April/early May. If you're interested in getting involved as a voice actor, e-mail me (viola12nightATgmailDOTcom) for details on how you can audition. Though it may be too late to get cast as any of the characters in the first few chapters, there are still plenty of characters yet to appear! I'll be lending my voice as one of the characters myself—let's see if you can guess which. One clue: it won't be Virginia.


	8. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

Hey. Just want to let you know a couple things:

1) The next chapter is in the works, but may not be finished for some time as production for the radioplay gets started up.

2) I invite you to join the social network website for "The American Sailor Soldier" where you can discuss the fanfic and the radioplay (once it gets started), chat with other readers and the radioplay cast, and post fanart. For an invitation to join, e-mail me at viola12nightATgmailDOTcom, and I will send you the invite.


	9. Chapter 8

Minnie materialized in a lobby lit dimly with a few tinted ceiling lamps, with furniture upholstered in a deep red. Seating comfortably around the coffee table, laughing, were her three comrades–Hector with blue hair and skin and clad in a fine blue suit, Izzy with green hair and skin and clad in a flapper dress with even more tassels than Minnie's, and Zeek with yellow-gold hair and skin and clad in a fine gold suit. When Minnie hobbled in with her increasingly paralyzed body, they all laughed uproariously.

"That's right," Minnie drawled, "get it out while you can." She then displayed the flame contained in the glass globe, and their laughter dropped. "Now, Hector, be a good boy and hold the door open–_now_!"

Hector jumped to his feet and held the door open for Minnie as she stumbled through. The room she entered was completely dark. A single ceiling lamp clicked on, illuminating a table for her to seat herself at. With a grin, she set the orb on the tabletop.

"Here you are, your Kingshipness. I know it ain't much, but hopefully, it'll give you a good start."

Though she couldn't see the Kingpin, she knew he was there by the ribbon of smoke streaming from his cigar. His thick, strong hand emerged into the lamp glow holding the cigar, and he placed the red-hot ashen tip against the globe's surface. The glass burst, and he held the cigar to the flame, then able to carry it back in the darkness to his face. The flame dimly illuminated his shadowed features as he inhaled deeply, sucking the flame into the cigar. Minnie heard a heavy sigh of relief, and emitted such a sigh herself. His hand once again emerged into the light, and his fingers snapped. Minnie could feel her limbs limbering back to their normal state.

"Oh, thank you, your Kingshipness!"

"Do better next time," the Kingpin advised.

"I will! I...think I know just what to do for next time."

Minnie left the room with a wide grin across her face, which sickened the other three in the lobby.

"This is stupid!" Hector declared. "Why can't we all just go out at once? Why do we have to wait for her to kick in before we can do some damage?"

"Because the Kingpin doesn't want damage," Izzy said, "he wants results."

"The method of our last attack worked," Zeek explained as he lit his cigarette, "because we didn't reveal our full strength until the time was right. If they know how big and strong we are, they're going to try to be bigger and stronger. But if we lay low, they'll lay off."

"No need to exhaust ourselves if we don't need to," Izzy said, filing with an emery board.

"Yeah, _Hector_." Minnie struck him across the back of his head. "Where were _you_ for the debriefing we had _two weeks_ ago?"

"I was crafting those stupid demons that you _claimed_ were necessary!"

She sat across his lap. "And I was right."

---

Virginia felt Monday with every fiber of her being when she woke that morning, and she didn't like a bit of it. Monday meant school, and school meant awkward face-offs, first with Hunter, then with Grace. School meant classes, where she had to give excuses to teachers for skipping out early, and where she would likely have to skip out again. It all gave her a headache thinking about it, and the only thing to coax her out of bed was the little self-discipline she had left, along with Phoebe's cat whiskers tickling her feet.

She just finished brushing her teeth when her mother called her.

"Your ride's here, Virginia!"

_Ride?_

Upon walking down the stairs and opening the front door, Virginia saw Cyan and her father waiting with the silver porsche. Cyan waved her over, and Virginia got into the car. In a moment that surprised even herself, Virginia gave Cyan a big hug.

"You have no idea how much I appreciate this!" she said.

"Oh, believe me, I do," Cyan said. "That bus was disgusting."

"Not just that–I don't have to walk to school with Hunter anymore! Thank you! And thank you, Mr. Hildebrand!"

"You're quite welcome, Ms. Starr," Mr. Hildebrand said as he pulled the car out of the driveway and drove off toward the school.

"Do you feel better today?" Cyan asked.

"Yes..." Virginia replied, "...What do you mean 'better'?"

"We left the café because you weren't feeling well, from the stage fright."

"Oh. Yeah, I feel better now. I'm fine."

Cyan lowered her voice to confidentiality. "Was it really stage fright, Virginia?"

"Of course."

"Because you seemed fine until you and Hunter started staring at each other."

"You saw that?! I mean..."

The porsche came to a halt at a four-way stop. It was the same corner where the bus depot was. Hunter was just arriving at the depot, and upon seeing Grace waiting there, gave her a kiss on the lips. Virginia felt like a deer caught in headlights, unable to look away until the porsche took off again. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with a scoff.

"Has Grace even told her parents that's she's dating–and dating a junior, for that matter? They've always told her that she can't date until she's sixteen."

"Virginia?" Cyan waved her hand in front of her friend's face, as Virginia seemed to have forgotten she was there. "Virginia...do you like Hunter?"

"What? Of course not! I'm upset that my best friend of three years is dating someone like him. I tried to warn her about him, but she wouldn't listen, and now she hates me!"

Mr. Hildebrand loudly cleared his throat to remind them that an adult was in listening range. "What is it about this boy Hunter that you had to warn your friend about?" he asked.

Virginia sighed at her stupidity in speaking so loud and so freely in front of a parent. "He's just...He lies about stuff. He's a liar."

"I see..." He said it in a way that suggested he suspected there was more to it, but would let it rest–a very common tone among parents ill-informed by children. "Well, it's good that you built up the courage to try to warn your friend. Give her time, and she'll realize you're only trying to help her."

"I hope so."

"But if you think this Hunter could be dangerous, you should tell her parents."

"I...Yes, I know...I don't think he's _dangerous_, exactly...but she could wind up getting hurt."

Her phone suddenly rang. She felt her heart leap into her throat, dreading the thought of an attack coming so early in the day, but to her immense relief, it was just a call from Phoebe.

"Hey, Phoebe. Any way we can change the ring tones on these phones, so the alarm ring is more distinctive?"

"I can arrange that, yes," Phoebe said. "I just wanted to call and say that I haven't been able to locate where Hunter could be hiding the Spica Diamond. And as he hasn't been showing up for battles as he once did, he'll need to be confronted differently."

"What do you have in mind?"

"A full intervention with everyone available. After school, we'll all meet at Endymion Café to hash things out. I'll need you to get Hunter there."

"You couldn't have ambushed him before he left this morning?"

"His timing was different this morning, because he didn't have to pick you up, so I was thrown off. You'll have to do it. I'll call the others and let them know."

"I have Cyan with me; I'll tell her."

"Okay. I'll see you after school."

Virginia hung up the phone with a sigh. "Cyan, want to go to Endymion Café after school, just for an hour or so?" She raised her eyebrow suggestively.

"Sure. Is that okay, Daddy? It's not too far a walk from school."

"I'll pick you up at 4:30," he said.

"Thanks, Daddy."

As soon as they were dropped off at school, Cyan asked what the meeting was for.

"We're going to confront Hunter about the pendant," Virginia said. "And...Phoebe asked me to get him there, but...could you invite him?"

"Oh. Uh, okay, sure...if I get a chance. I don't usually see him during my day. But if I do, I will."

Cyan walked ahead into the school, but Virginia hung back as the bus pulled up. She thought to work up her courage and approach Hunter as he came off the bus, but when he stepped out holding Grace's hand, she turned away immediately to enter the school.

At Phy Ed, Cyan and Virginia noticed Audrey was part of their class. She had been before, but not having known her, they never realized it before. For a moment, Virginia thought to ask Audrey for the favor of coercing Hunter to the café, but as Audrey sat on the complete opposite side of the bleachers as Cyan and herself, she disregarded any such inclination.

The whole class was seated on the bleachers in the beginning, as everyone assembled from changing in the locker rooms and sat for roll-call. The teacher then announced that they would be running basketball drills, so everyone had to rise and grab a basketball from the bin. As Cyan and Virginia rose to their feet and took their first step down the bleachers, they tripped and fell, Cyan's arm hitting the next bleacher down, and Virginia's knees smacking the bleacher in front of her. Laughter erupted behind them, and looking to their ankles, they saw that their gym shorts had been pulled down. A few boys who noticed whistled, and Cyan and Virginia hurried to rise and lift their gym shorts back up.

"Freshman!" The two girls who had been laughing so hard locked their pinky fingers in their victory.

Virginia could see tears building in Cyan's face, and she felt her own face grow hot in anger and embarrassment.

"Estupida!" Audrey shot up from where she sat and stormed over to the two laughing girls. "They could have really gotten hurt, you know, you stupid witches!"

"It's all part of the initiation, girl."

"Aren't you freshman, too?"

"Our boyfriends are sophomores. If we do the initiation on someone else, we get out of it."

"Then as a sophomore, allow me."

With one movement, she grabbed each girl by the arm and twisted their arms behind their backs.

"Now, are you going to apologize?" she barked.

"We're sorry!"

"I can't hear you. I said, are you going to apologize?"

"WE'RE SORRY!"

"Ms. Corazon!" the teacher bellowed. "Release those girls!"

With a slight growl, Audrey let go of their arms.

"Now, the three of you go down to the principal's office. I'll meet you there. Class, get started on the drills. Ms. Hildebrand, Ms. Starr, I'll take you to the nurse's office."

Cyan and Virginia watched Audrey as she stomped down the bleachers and out the door, then exchanged astonished glances. The teacher dropped them off at the nurse's office, where the nurse iced Virginia's knees, and put some pain ointment on Cyan's bicep, wrapping it in gauze. Cyan's tears were calming down, but her face was still red. The nurse allowed them to stay and rest for the remainder of the class hour. There was a joined room with three beds, Cyan and Virginia each taking one.

Cyan emitted a sorrowful sigh. "This is the second time in the past week that people have seen my underwear. I'm wearing pants from now on."

"Have you ever worn a swimsuit in public?"

"Yeah..."

"Same thing, really."

"I...I guess..."

Virginia tried to change the topic to calm her friend down. "Audrey, huh?"

"Yeah, she helped us. I mean...she was a little scary about it, but...she helped us."

"What really got me was that she's a sophomore."

"Hey, yeah. What is she doing in a freshman gym class?"

"Maybe this wasn't the first time she's twisted someone's arm."

"It's hard to believe someone as scary as her is a superhero. _And_ descended from royalty?"

"That kingdom was destroyed three hundred years ago. There's no royalty anymore."

"I don't know...It makes me feel special and powerful."

"Being a superhero doesn't do that?"

"What about...your great grandmother?"

"What about her?"

"Do you really think everything Phoebe said is true?"

"I..." Virginia found it would be an opportune time to finally talk to someone about the dreams she'd been having. But somehow, she didn't feel comfortable telling Cyan. "All things considered, it could be true. I never used to believe in things like that, but...considering all that's happened...I guess it actually makes sense, in an odd way."

"You ever wonder what it might have been like if we grew up...out there? You know, if the kingdom were still around?"

"No, actually..."

They both fell into silence, as they couldn't help but to imagine what it might have been like to live in such a surrealistic setting, and did so until the bell rang for their next classes. Cyan was sufficiently calmed and refreshed from her upset, and though Virginia was also feeling better, it still hurt to bend her legs as she walked.

At lunch, Cyan and Virginia sat together, and Grace and Hunter sat together at a separate table. Virginia watched warily as Grace excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving Hunter clear. She told Cyan she would be back shortly, then rose and approached Hunter at his table. He noticed as her shadow fell over his lunch, then looked up to see who it was. For a moment, they just stared, silent.

"You want something?" he asked.

Virginia snapped herself out of her temporary daze. "Endymion Café after school. Don't bring Grace."

"What's this about?"

Her green eyes narrowed into stern determination. "Just be there."

Mocking her severe tone, he said, "Fine; I will."

With that, Virginia returned to her seat and let Cyan know that the job was done. They both remarked that they were curious to see if he would actually show up.

After school, they immediately met Phoebe waiting just at the bottom of the stairs outside, where she instructed them to wait for Audrey.

"She might have detention," Virginia remarked.

However, shortly after, Audrey came down the steps to meet them.

"You doing okay, V?" she asked.

"...Yeah."

"You, Princess?"

Cyan didn't know at first who she meant. "Oh. Me? Yes, I'm fine."

"We going, then? I wanna get a good table."

Without waiting for a response, she started off down the sidewalk, and then Phoebe led the other two after.

It was about a fifteen-minute walk to the café, where they all showed their coupon cards and placed their orders. All the while, Phoebe remained hidden among their shoes.

"The owner reserved a table for you," the clerk said. "Third level, back corner."

It was the most remote table in the café, which was perfect for the privacy they needed. A few minutes after they were seated, Rakesh served their orders and sat with them, scanning the café.

"So, has he walked in yet, this guy we're meeting?"

"Not yet," Phoebe said. She had been peering out from under the tablecloth, keeping a constant watch.

"Okay: he stole something that Virginia needs in order to save these people who get their talent taken, and we're trying to convince him to give it back?"

"Exactly, yes. Have you any news for me, by the way?"

"No, not really. Haven't been hearing anything that might help you out. What was that pink girl's name?"

"Minnie."

"Minnie. I can remember that."

"Oh my god..." Virginia said.

"What?" Cyan asked.

"He came."

They all looked to the door at once and saw Hunter entering the café.

"That's the one?" Rakesh clarified. "I'll go usher him over here."

He walked across the room and introduced himself to Hunter as the owner of the café. He then led him back across the room and to the reserved table where the soldiers were seated.

"I may as well say now," Hunter said without taking a seat, "that I'm not giving any of you the pendant."

Phoebe leapt nimbly onto the tabletop to better meet his eyes. "Then, if we may ask," Phoebe said, "why did you steal it to begin with?"

Hunter quirked his eyebrow. "Aren't you Virginia's cat?"

"I do live at Virginia's residence."

"I've seen you sneaking around my house."

"And for good reason. Now, are you working for the Kingpin?"

"No, I'm not working for the Kingpin."

"Then why? You've proved in the past that you want to help us. Virginia needs that pendant in order to help victims regain their talent. Why would you prevent that?"

"Just say I'm an independent agent. I never intended to fight alongside you with whatever is going on. I deterred the demons until someone could come to fight them, then I stayed only until you could get more help. My part is done."

"And you feel you deserve the pendant as payment?"

He sighed in exasperation. "I think the only important thing you need to know is that you're not getting it back. And nothing you could say in this intervention or whatever is going to change that."

"Listen, chico," Audrey said, rising from her seat, "you better hand that thing over before someone gets hurt. An artist already lost his life's work, and...well, no idea what that other guy did, but we know he won't ever be doing it again. What if they come after you next, huh, and steal your talent? Then you'd be begging V to take the pendant and use it."

"No, I wouldn't," he said resolutely.

"Really?" Audrey stepped around the table to meet him face-to-face. "And if I told you that the next time you're walking home, I'd be waiting with my venom dart? What then?"

"I guess that means I'll be seeing you later."

Cyan leaned over to Virginia to whisper, "Now they're both scaring me."

Hunter started to leave, but Rakesh stopped him. "Hold on. Now, this may not be life versus death, but it's still a very dire situation. If you don't agree to relinquish the pendant, we'll bring the police into it."

"I live right next door to Virginia. She can give you my address." After glancing back at her, he turned and left for the door.

Virginia tried to restrain herself, but found herself incapable of doing so. She bolted up from her chair with a winced at her sore knees, and hurried down to meet Hunter just as he reached the door, shutting it as he tried to open it.

"Does this have something to do with your great-grandfather?" she demanded.

He let the door close and turned to face her. "What do you know about him?"

"I know...I don't know anything, really. I just knew that he knew my great-grandmother."

He nodded slowly, an angry glint building in his eyes. "That's right, he did." With that, he thrust open the door and left.

Virginia's primary instinct was to follow and demand that he give up the pendant, but the anger in his eyes kept her rooted to the spot until the _click_ of the closing door woke her. She returned to the table, where everyone looked to her expectantly.

"Something happened..." she began, trying to think of how to explain it. "My great-grandmother did something to his great-grandfather that made him...really angry."

"So he stole the pendant as revenge?" Phoebe speculated.

"Maybe if I talked to his parents," Rakesh offered. "His parents might be able to reason with him."

"Not if they're the ones who told him about his great-grandfather," Phoebe cautioned.

"None of our parents seem to know anything about our ancestors," Virginia pointed out. "His probably don't, either."

"So..." Cyan began. "Do you really think we should get the police involved?"

"I'm not comfortable with that," Phoebe said. "If we bring outsiders into this business, they may discover more than I'd care for them to."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Audrey asked.

"You can all do your part to monitor him at school. I'll keep trailing him–hopefully with more stealth than I managed before. But I think what will work in the end is for you, Virginia, to try to learn what it is that happened between your ancestors, and to see if you can resolve it. How did you figure out in the first place that your ancestors knew each other?"

Everyone looked to Virginia, waiting for a reply. She tried to resist the blush of embarrassment that came when she thought of telling them the truth–that she'd been having dreams about him. "I just...figured," she began. "I mean, all the soldiers' ancestors are connected. He may not be a soldier, but he's always called himself _Zodiac_ Mask, and...I mean, knowing about the pendant, to steal it...I mean, it would make sense that his ancestor knew mine."

"Ah, I see," Phoebe replied. "I was hoping you had a memory. I'm not sure if it's actually possible, but I've often wondered if you girls might regain some of your ancestors' memories. I just reasoned that if you can inherit the powers they had, maybe you could also inherit memories connected to those powers."

"That would be convenient," Audrey remarked.

"Maybe if you train," Rakesh suggested.

"Training?" Phoebe asked.

"Didn't they train with their powers back...you know, at their palaces or whatever? If their memories were connected to their powers, maybe training up their powers could spark memories."

"And considering that we've lost every battle so far," Audrey added, folding her arms, "it wouldn't hurt."

"We haven't lost _every_ battle," Cyan pointed out. "We won the first one I fought. It's Minnie. We've had trouble ever since she came along."

"All the more reason," Audrey said. "If the Kingpin is going to up the ante, we should follow suit."

Cyan laughed.

"What?"

"Ante...suit...They're both poker puns."

"So?"

"It's just...it's funny..."

Virginia broke the moment of awkwardness. "Training is a good enough idea, except that we already have school, studying, homework, and despite all the strange things a New Yorker has seen in their lifetime, three superhero girls fighting each other in the school gymnasium would be too bizarre for anyone with a camera phone to pass up."

Phoebe got an idea. "Rakesh, doesn't your apartment have private access to the roof of the building?"

"Yeah; that could work. Wait...Just how much have you been stalking me?!"

"So it's decided," Phoebe said, ignoring the question. "After school, for one hour every day...Should we meet here, or next door?"

After a sigh at Phoebe's evasion of his question, Rakesh replied, "Next door. I'll buzz you in. Apartment 1010. But then, you probably already knew that, huh, kitty cat?"

Phoebe merely gave him a tired look of _drop it, already, would you?_

"The café can do without me for an hour; it's no problem. Just...try not to make my ceiling tiles fall."

"Gracias, Rakesh," Audrey said. "If that's it, I'm going to head home. See-ya."

"My dad will be coming at 4:30," Cyan said. "We can give you a ride."

Audrey scoffed. "That's okay, Princess. I'll manage." With that, she left.

"Why does she keep calling me that?" Cyan asked. "Technically, we're all princesses, aren't we?"

Not wanting to explain it, Virginia simply said, "Just forget about it."

Audrey looked around for a cab outside the cafe. Not seeing one readily available, she walked in the direction of her apartment building, casually watching for a cab along the way. She walked about five blocks when a black Lincoln pulled up by the sidewalk. The passenger in back rolled down the window to look out at her.

"Need a ride home?" he asked.

"I'm getting a cab," Audrey said, not slowing in her walk.

"It's really no trouble; I'm done with work for the day."

"Then why are you working me?"

"I'm not 'working' you; I just thought it might be a good idea to offer my daughter a ride so she doesn't have to pay for a cab."

"Yeah. Thanks for your concern. But I don't have any trouble affording it with your bail money, so you can move along."

"Do you always have to call it that–bail money?"

Audrey raised her arm, flagging down an available cab. Without a word of parting to her father, she boarded the cab and instructed it to go.


End file.
